


Souvenirs From Dead Worlds

by overlordpotatoe



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Interplanetary Travel, M/M, Original Slash, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2017-11-14 02:03:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 64,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overlordpotatoe/pseuds/overlordpotatoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam's job is to make a record of cultures before the drones come and destroy them. He's supposed to take artefacts, not people. Kias doesn't know what's going on, but there are metal monsters flying around killing people and he doesn't want to be next, even if to live he has to give up the freedom he's only just reclaimed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_.

 

Why the hell had he gone back for that stupid vase?

 

Probably because it was a prized possession of this stupid race that was currently in the process of getting torn apart. Probably because the craftsmanship had been pretty impressive for people who hadn't quite mastered indoor plumbing yet. It didn't really matter, as by the time Sam had gotten there it had already been smashed to pieces. Brilliant.

 

Sam dashed down an alley away from the sounds of screaming and laser fire, almost tripping on the twisted corpse of a man as he rounded the corner. The pain of his ill-fitting boots rubbing holes in his ankles that had been a constant annoyance over the last few days barely even registered now.

 

All Sam had to show for this trip was a bunch of discreetly taken pictures and the little journal filled with notes which would help form his report on this place. Luckily that was all that was technically required for his job, though they wouldn't do him much good if he couldn't get out of here alive. Shit, shit, shit.

 

The only things presently keeping Sam alive were his proficiency with his laser gun and the speed of his legs, both of which should not have been a necessary part of Sam's job but often were because he was an idiot who liked to push deadlines. Usually not quite this far, though; he'd already shot seven of the drones, and the more attention he drew to himself the faster they were swarming to him.

 

He stumbled to a stop in a clearing, assessing it for size and access. Access would have been fine as the sky above was clear, but Sam judged the size of the space to be just a bit on the small size. Damn. Why did this city have to be so cramped?

 

Sam was tempted to just scale one of the buildings and summon his shuttle from the roof, but that would have left him vulnerable during the climb. Sam craved the wide open streets of the last world he'd visited which had made his escape far more expedient.

 

A soft whir and click alerted Sam to the presence of an approaching drone, and he darted back behind a nearby crate for cover before it could round the corner.

 

One of Sam’s much hated boots collided with something soft, and he looked down, already knowing what he would find. A body. Lovely.

 

The body, curled as far behind the crate as it would fit, was that of a young man. A teenager, or perhaps a little older — it was hard to tell with how skinny he was — with fair skin and hair of the reddish blond colour that was common to the area tied up with a loop of dark red leather.

 

Sam, with his chocolate brown hair and skin several shades darker than that of the local inhabitants, had stood out here. He'd only been sent because the people here hadn't been suspicious of foreigners. That was always good, as even if you spoken their language perfectly it was pretty impossible to erase an accent.

 

Tragic and gross as the corpse was, Sam had a drone to deal with. He peaked around the corner and was immediately spotted by the drone, its guns whirring to life as it hovered inches above the ground. Sam didn't give them a chance to heat up, using his laser gun to put a hole in the vulnerable central plate of the metal bastard that covered its battery. There were definite advantages to having superior technology to those the drones were designed to destroy.

 

Sam attempted to leave the safety of the crates and promptly fell to his hands and knees, his gun flying from his hand to clatter a short distance away. Something had snagged the leg of his pants.

 

Sam glanced behind him and met the wide blue eyes of the corpse, which was looking pretty not corpsey, and which also had hold of the leg of his pants. If Sam had still had his gun, he would have been tempted to shoot the boy. It would have been a death no more unpleasant than what the drones would do to him, and probably a little quicker. Sam wouldn't have, of course, because all logic aside he wasn't much of a killer. But he would have been _tempted_ to. Instead, he attempted to kick the boy.

 

At the sound of another drone's approach Sam eyed his gun, just a couple of arm spans out of his reach. Just how tightly was the boy holding onto him? A couple of tugs of his leg revealed, yeah, pretty tightly, and Sam opted to jump back behind the crate instead, his body pressing against the boy's as they hid themselves behind the crate. "You little bitch," Sam muttered, but it was in his own language, not the boy's.

 

For several long moments Sam huddled there with the boy, trying to keep his breathing quiet as he listened to the soft whir of the drone circling the clearing. After a while the sound of the drone faded away, leaving them alone. Had the drone not abandoned its search of the area, had it continued and discovered their hiding spot, Sam was pretty sure he would have died there.

 

Sam grabbed the boy by the collar of his baggy shirt. This time, Sam spoke in the boy's language. "If you don't let go of me right now I swear on all that you hold holy that I will choke you until you do."

 

The boy let go.

 

When Sam had retrieved his gun he found, to his dismay, that the boy was standing behind him, looking very much like he planned to follow Sam. "No," Sam said, clearly enunciating the word, but when he started walking away the boy was on his heels.

 

" _No_ ," Sam said in the boy's language. "No, no, and more no. Also, no. Also— Wait..." Sam had an idea. Maybe the boy could be useful. "Do you know where a wide open space is near here? Like a park or a town square?"

 

The boy thought for a moment, and then spoke quietly. "The market?"

 

"Yes, perfect!" Sam hissed, trying to keep his voice down. He'd been to their markets a few times over the couple of weeks he'd been here, and the space they occupied was plenty big enough for his shuttle. She was more than capable of crushing a few shabby market stalls to make room for herself if necessary. There was one problem, however. Sam had no idea where he was. He hesitated for a moment and then sighed. "You lead the way."

 

He was going to regret this.


	2. Chapter 2

The boy was a lot bolder in the face of danger than Sam had expected. When he looked at Sam he was meek, avoided eye contact, and spoke sparingly, but when it came to the drones he didn't freeze up. He was smart enough to get the hell out of the way so Sam could deal with them and brave enough to keep moving after Sam was done.

 

Being out in the open was necessary but definitely not safe, and Sam was surprised that the boy didn't decide Sam was mad and abandon him. Surprised, and very disappointed. Sam was too busy shooting drones to figure out what to do about it, though.

 

Other than the corner of one narrow lane where half a dozen people had been trapped and executed by the drones, there hadn't been many bodies in the side streets. The marketplace was a different matter. The drones tended to aim to kill, and their lasers burnt rather than cut, so at least there wasn't a great deal of blood. Bodies, though, yes. Plenty of those.

 

Sam risked his life for a few extra moments to find a clear spot so that none of the bodies got crushed under his shuttle. While still shooting the drones, Sam turned the dial on his ring with his spare hand, then pressed the buttons in the required sequence.

 

Less than a minute later, the beam from Sam's laser gun narrowly missed being deflected back into his arm before his shuttle de-cloaked, appearing before him in all her ruddy, dented glory.

 

The boy, who had been lying behind Sam on the ground to stay out of the line of fire, made a startled noise and scrambled back.

 

Sam hoped he would run.

 

He didn't.

 

Sam should have left the boy there, laying frightened on the ground. He wouldn't have survived more than a few moments after Sam had left. Why should Sam help him? Everyone else on this world was going to die, why should this boy live? He wasn't special, he'd just encountered Sam at the right — or perhaps wrong — time.

 

Sam twisted his hand in the front of the boy's shirt, yanked him up, and shoved him into the shuttle ahead of himself. Yep, Sam was going to regret this.

 

#

 

Wherever the man had shoved Kias, it was darker than it had been outside in the mid-morning sunlight. The few lights there were, Kias didn't understand. They didn't look like fire. Some were larger, about the size of Kias' fist, and shone white light from the curved surface of the ceiling. The others were far smaller and glowed faintly in many different colours on the surfaces that encircled most of the small room. Once the door slid shut all sound from outside was cut off, leaving only a soft humming sound and, after a few moments, a clicking sound coming from where the man had sat down on the other side of the room.

 

This room, and the man who had shoved him into it, were about as strange as the metal monsters outside, but at least they didn't appear to want Kias dead, even if the man had threatened to strangle him.

 

The man seemed to have relaxed now that they were in this room, and so Kias allowed himself to do the same, just slightly. Just enough that the wound he'd received across one side of his stomach from attempting to fight one of the metal monsters decided to remind him of its existence by means of sharp, burning pain. Kias crawled under one of the surfaces with the glowy lights and curled up, hoping he could be forgotten for a while.

 

#

 

Sam jabbed furiously at the keys, selecting and confirming the coordinates of the transport point. This was the stupidest thing he'd ever done, and he had done some exceptionally stupid things in his lifetime. Like that time he'd tried to fight a drone with a sword because he'd dropped his gun somewhere. He probably should have known better that time, if not because of his training then because the owner of the sword had actually known how to use it and Sam had still had to take it from the man's dead body. He still had a scar from that.

 

This, however... this would lose him his job. It annoyed him even more when he turned to find the boy huddled under one of the command panels. If he was going to lose his job rescuing someone, was this truly the most worthy individual he could have found?

 

Sam kneeled on the floor in front of the panel, peaking under at the boy. "What's your name?" He might as well know now. Sam could still have gotten out of this by tossing the boy back out the door, but he apparently had more conscience than sense.

 

"Kias," the boy responded cautiously after a long pause, not unballing himself.

 

"Kias," Sam repeated. "I'm Sam. Get out from there."

 

A commanding tone, Sam was glad to find, worked on Kias. As soon as Kias was standing, Sam dragged him over to the seats at the front, pushed him into one, and did up the buckles. Luckily, the shuttle came equipped with two seats, even though Sam was almost always alone on his assignments. Otherwise, Sam supposed, he could have simply let Kias rattle around on the floor somewhere while the shuttle did its shaky thing, but he knew well enough how much that could hurt.

 

Sam had done that once during training when they'd had to pick up some of his co-workers who had gotten stranded. He'd been the lowest ranking at the time and so had automatically drawn the short straw and been left without a seat during transport. Sam had ended the day with a concussion, more bruises than he could count, and a powerful desire to one day work alone.

 

It wasn't until Sam had strapped himself in and initiated the transport that he discovered Kias was injured. He discovered this by Kias screaming.

 

An unfortunate side effect of the transport, aside from the annoying shaking, was that it had a way of agitating injuries. Even the few minor scratches Sam had acquired from running from the drones were stinging and reopening. Unless Kias was seriously freaked out by some rather aggressive shaking, Sam could safely conclude he had been hurt.

 

#

 

Kias had no idea what was going on, but Sam had strapped him to a chair, the room had started shaking, and now the injury on his stomach felt like someone was dragging a hot poker over it. It hadn't bled when Kias had received it. Whatever the dangerous light that the metal robots and Sam's weapon shot out was, it burnt rather than cut. Now, though, he could see blood starting to soak through his shirt. Kias' throat hurt from screaming when the shaking stopped a few seconds later.

 

Kias was pretty sure Sam swore as he unstrapped him from the chair, but it wasn't in any language Kias understood. Sam had darker skin like the people from the north, but his eyes were a lighter brown and his hair had a slight wave to it that the northerners didn't have. Kias assumed, therefore, that Sam was of mixed blood, but his smooth accent wasn't one Kias recognised. Sam disappeared from Kias' line of vision for a few moments, then pulled Kias to his feet when he reappeared.

 

Although he'd experienced a good bit of pain in his life, Kias was pretty sure he'd never been this badly injured. He felt nauseous and his hands were shaking, and he had to keep one hand on Sam's shoulder to hold himself up. Kias managed to stay on his feet while Sam pulled his shirt over his head.

 

#

 

Sam swore, this time in Kias' language, grateful that the linguistics module he'd been provided with included language sampled from areas that enjoyed some more colourful vocabulary. How the hell had he failed to notice Kias was injured? Not that it would have made any difference if he had known as everything he’d done had been necessary, but he still felt kind of bad for overlooking something like that. Kind of impressed, too, that Kias hadn't let it hold him back when they were escaping.

 

The wound looked nasty and raw and had obviously been caused by one of the drones' lasers. It was nowhere near as bad as it could have been, though, considering those things were designed to kill with a single hit. It looked like Kias' stomach had only been grazed by the laser, scorching a hole in his shirt along with it.

 

Sam instructed Kias to keep his arms up while he wrapped the wound, and Kias silently complied. The wound wasn't as clean as Sam would have liked and it looked like some of the burnt patch of Kias' shirt had adhered to it, but they would be back on Sam's world within a few hours and Kias would be able to see a doctor then. Sam would probably just make it worse if he tried to mess with it.

 

Another thing that worried Sam was how skinny Kias was. Sam had noticed that Kias was underweight right away, but Kias' baggy shirt had hidden the extent of it.

 

Sam carefully adjusted the dose of the painkillers, knowing how easily it would be to dose someone with a body weight as low as Kias' too heavily. After he'd made the adjustments, Sam ran the injector across the crook of Kias' arm until it beeped, indicating it was above a vein.

 

"This'll sting a bit," Sam warned Kias while he held his arm firmly in place. Sam pressed the button down, and while Kias showed no reaction to the pain, the look he gave Sam afterwards was one of greater wariness.

 

Sam helped him sit back down in the seat, but after Sam returned the med kit to its storage place he turned to find Kias huddled back underneath one of the panels. Fair enough. Sam put a bottle of water and a nutrition bar on the floor near Kias' hiding place before heading outside.

 

The rendezvous point was, as it should have been, reassuringly desolate. They would be safe there until it was time for meet up in a few hours. These transport points were naturally occurring and fixed, but they had to be opened up before Sam could go through them. As they had no way of communicating between worlds, there was a specific time each day when someone would come through and open up the transport points for any teams that might need to go through.

 

Often Sam would have the company of the occupants of one of the other shuttles while he waited, but on this occasion the cities his co-workers had been assigned to were closer to different transport points. Sam didn't mind, though. Nobody else who wasn't a doctor would be much help to him right then, and his co-workers would only have reminded him of what he already knew. He'd fucked up.

 

If Sam thought about it too much, his job was incredibly sad. His task was to witness the last days of a civilisation's life before it was destroyed by the drones and built over by a more advanced society. Sam's people could protect their own world from being entered, but the only thing they could do for the people of worlds like Kias' was to make sure they were remembered. This was the first time Sam had ever saved a life, and the worst he had ever fucked up.

 

Sam re-entered the shuttle to find Kias trying to tear the foil off of the nutrition bar with his teeth. Hopefully that was what he was doing, anyway; if he was trying to eat the foil, Sam was taking him back to where he'd found him. Sam attempted to contort his laughter into a kind smile while he helped Kias with his food access problems. He wiped the saliva he'd gotten on his hand from opening the food wrapper off on the leg of Kias' pants.

 

The speed with which Kias consumed the nutrition bar, combined with how underweight he was, had Sam wondering if Kias had been homeless. Looking closer, though, Sam noticed that the ends of Kias' hair, which had come out of its tie at some point, had been recently trimmed. When Kias lifted the bar to his mouth again Sam saw that his fingernails cut been cut short, not chewed, and his hands were clean rather than dirt stained as was common among the homeless.

 

Despite being way too thin and in ill-fitting, well-worn clothing, Sam was fairly convinced Kias had not been a street kid. Most likely, he'd just come from a very poor family that couldn't afford to feed him right.

 

"What happened?" Kias asked after he'd finished his food and drained the bottle of water. Sam had known that question was going to come eventually, and he had no idea how to answer it.

 

"Um..." Sam scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Some bad guys are killing all the people in your world with machines, and then they're going to come here and build a new colony and inhabit it with their own people." There, that was slightly better than 'everyone you have ever loved is now dead,' and it communicated the same concept.

 

Sam was pretty sure Kias wasn't even close to being able to process what Sam had just told him yet, his expression confused and distressed, but Kias slowly nodded anyway. Kias gestured around himself, "And this? Us?"

 

"Ummm..." That was even more difficult to simplify. "You got lucky? I don't know. You're alive and you're going to stay alive."

 

Sam didn't know if it was the authoritative tone of his voice or if Kias was genuinely satisfied with that shitty cop-out response, but he fell quiet after that. Sam gave Kias another bottle of water and another nutrition bar, and was relieved to see that Kias had mastered the art of opening foil wrappers. That counted as adjusting to a new society, right?

 

#

 

Kias had fallen asleep again and was once again alone when he woke up, but this time the door to the room had been left open and he could hear voices outside. He dragged himself out of his hiding place and pulled himself up, wincing at the pain that blossomed from his wound.

 

It was late afternoon, Kias noted as he peeked his head out the door, and they were nowhere near where they had been the last time he'd been outside. That was something of a relief, really, as the last time he'd been out there metal monsters had been trying to kill him. But a room that could appear out of nowhere and move on its own... that was disturbing. Kias concluded that it had probably happened during all that shaking, but he was a long way from figuring out how.

 

The strange, undulating expanse of blackness that hung suspended by nothing in the air like a low flying, particularly menacing cloud was also rather noteworthy. It was large enough to swallow the entire room whole, and a niggling fear in the bottom of Kias' belly told him that was the point.

 

Next to the black cloud was a... a _thing_. It looked to Kias rather like a large rock, but it clearly wasn't. It was a mottled mix of dark greens as though it had been painted to be easily disguised amongst foliage, but there was a thin scratch up one side that reflected the sun and indicated it was made of metal. Indentations on the outside suggested to Kias that it might be intended to open up and fit people inside.

 

Sam was there, standing near the blackness, and he was talking to two other people, a man and a woman. Kias wondered if they had come from inside the strange rock thing. From the distance they were at, Kias only caught the occasional word, but they weren't speaking any language Kias understood. At this point, he wasn't surprised.

 

They didn't look much like Sam, as Kias might have expected. The man had close cropped black hair and skin a few shades darker than Kias', and the girl had hair and skin of lighter colours, though not as light as Kias'. His city was — _had been_ — quite multicultural, however, so Kias wasn't entirely a stranger to diversity.

 

He was, however, completely unacquainted with mysterious black expanses.

 

#

 

Jason was laughing even though it really was not fucking funny. Not fucking funny on so many, many levels. Sam had rescued some guy, thus violating the most important rule governing his job, and pretty much guaranteed he would _lose_ his job. The guy he'd saved was probably going to be traumatised for life, and would completely fail at being a functional or useful member of society. Hell, he wouldn't even be able to talk to anyone but Sam unless they had a linguistics implant and were given Kais' language module.

 

When Jason didn't stop laughing, Sam punched him in the shoulder, hard, aiming to leave a bruise. That made him shut up fast. Overall, Sam probably wouldn't have minded a bit of a fight right then, even if Jason was his (rather shitty) friend. Unfortunately, Keri stepped between them and pushed them apart before things could go any further.

 

"Now now, boys," Keri said condescendingly, and Sam was irritated to find that her expression wasn't without amusement. She shrugged unapologetically at him. "Is he cute at least?"

 

Jason snickered. "I hope so, considering you just gave up your entire career for him."

 

Sam looked at Keri miserably. "Can I please hurt him, just a little?"

 

Keri shook her head. "No, he might hit you back." She turned to Jason and pulled his ear hard enough to make him squawk. "There, justice done. Now tell us if he's cute."

 

Sam made a sound of annoyance and turned away, heading back to his shuttle. "Get out of the way or I swear I will run you both over," Sam called back to them before stepping back into the shuttle and closing the door.

 

Sam realised that both Jason and Keri were trying to lighten the mood in their own way and that they did, in fact, feel genuine compassion for his situation. He didn't care. Whatever they'd been trying to do, they'd only succeeded in pissing Sam off more.

 

Kias was awake and standing near the door, having clearly been spying on them. Sam wondered what Kias thought about the portal but didn't ask. At the moment, he didn't have room in his brain to care and he really wasn't in the mood to explain multiple worlds or portals or how any of it worked. Actually, he was pretty sure he'd never be in the mood for that. Explaining science and technology to someone who couldn't even begin to comprehend it sounded like a pretty pointless activity.

 

"Sit in the seat so I can buckle you up," Sam said, and then had to repeat it in Kais' language because he'd gotten himself mixed up. Kias looked no more inclined to obey the second time, however. He was backing away.

 

Which, of course, made sense, considering what had happened last time Sam had made him sit in the seat. Sam didn't have the patience to deal with it at the moment, though.

 

"Just..." Sam ran his hand through his hair. "Just sit down. It won't hurt this time, I promise."

 

Kias didn't look like he believed him, which pissed Sam off. The first time had been an accident! Sam hadn't known Kias was injured. Besides, he had saved Kias' life. Didn't that earn him just a little trust? Sam decided to fall back on what had worked on Kias previously: an authoritative tone. Already frustrated as he was, however, it came out a bit more aggressive than he'd intended.

 

"Sit. The fuck. Down." Yeah, that comprehensive language module was really coming in handy on this assignment. This assignment, which would probably be his last. Sam was a bit rough buckling Kias in, and finally felt guilt seeping into his gut when he accidentally poked the bandage over Kias' wound with one of the buckles, causing Kias to make a strangled sound of pain.

 

#

 

Kias had no idea what was going on with all these strange moving rooms and metal monsters, but he was beginning to get an idea of what was going on with him and Sam. Kias had had several ideas as to why Sam might have taken Kias with him, but he'd been hoping Sam had just done it to be nice. He'd allowed himself to stay hopeful about it because Sam was young and attractive, and though he was a bit older than Kias, Sam still reminded Kias more of the boys he'd worked with than any of the men who had mistreated them.

 

Everything about Sam was strange, but his attitude was familiar. Sam was angry and domineering and quick to snap when he wasn't obeyed, even if he had shown some kindness towards Kias earlier. Kias wasn't naive enough to assume that anyone who was nice to him had his best interests in mind. Still, at least Sam could be nice if he wished to be. Kias just had to work out how to keep him from getting angry.

 

Sam hadn't lied — at least not about it not hurting this time. In fact, the whole thing was quite different this time around. The first thing that happened was a few of the large pieces of glass above the surfaces with glowy lights suddenly became transparent, revealing the surrounding area and the disconcerting cloud of blackness. And then the room began to move.


	3. Chapter 3

It was almost pitch black inside the portal, the only illumination the static light that crackled within the foggy edges of the passage. Even on high beam the shuttle's own lights were useless. There was nothing for them to reflect off of.

 

Sam's shuttle steered herself on autopilot through the portal, finding their way home, so Sam didn't have to worry about forging a route through the complicated twists and turns of the portal. He doubted he could have, even if he had been trained for it. Very few people could successfully navigate the constantly moving walls of the portals.

 

Travelling between worlds had always made Sam nervous. Even on autopilot things could go wrong, though technology had progressed to a point where they seldom did. The space in these portals didn't exist in the same way other space did, and that creeped Sam right the fuck out.

 

Just before they broke through the other side of the portal Sam glanced at Kias, who had been completely silent during the journey. Kias was paler than ever and gripping the armrests on his chair hard enough to hurt as he watched them twist through the dark smoky passage.

 

A moment later they tore out the other side of the portal, into Sam's world, causing Kias to let out a startled squeak. Yep, Sam was doing a great job rescuing this guy! Not at all adding to the mental scarring that would likely plague Kias for the rest of his life! Sam was such a fucking hero. Brilliant job. All the awards.

 

The doors to the landing bay opened automatically, allowing the shuttle to enter and land. Kias let out a small, strangled whimper as Sam unbuckled him from his seat, but Sam ignored him. When Sam opened the shuttle door Kias hung back, gazing warily past Sam to the landing bay beyond.

 

"Come on," Sam said firmly, then gave Kias' arm a gentle tug to get him moving out of the shuttle when he didn't immediately comply. Kias didn't resist as Sam led him along, and after a while Sam was able to release his grip without Kias lagging behind.

 

As he couldn't really make things worse at this point, Sam decided that he may as well just stroll to the med bay with Kias in tow without bothering to inform anyone of his incredibly stupid mistake. He wondered how long he could delay getting chewed out. Would the doctor dob him in? Had Keri and Jason already done so?

 

Sam didn't expect, or even hope, to be able to cover things up indefinitely, but it would have been so nice to have a little time to himself beforehand. Enough time to take a real shower and wash the nasty decontamination fluid off of himself. Maybe he could even eat a meal, have a nap...

 

Kias followed Sam down the bare, spacious corridor, wide-eyed but silent, making Sam feel an uncomfortable mix of guilty and relieved. The guy deserved a million explanations, but Sam had no idea where to begin. How could he explain any of this to someone who had grown up in a world that didn't even have electricity? He might as well have simply told Kias it was all magic and moved on. For a moment, he genuinely considered doing just that. It wasn't like anyone would be able to tell Kias otherwise.

 

"I brought you a present!" Sam announced as he swung the doors to the med bay open, trying to force as much disturbing cheer into his voice as possible. "Remember when I brought you that pretty book you couldn't even read? You liked the book."

 

"What," was all Dr Austin said, her eyes fixed firmly on Kias.

 

"He's very well behaved." Sam stripped his shirt off and threw it into the large bin near the door. He was glad to be rid of it. Kais' people had made some really scratchy clothing.

 

"What did you do?" Dr Austin's voice was calm and even, but her strained expression suggested she was struggling to keep it that way.

 

"Something really stupid," Sam admitted as he sat down on the floor to take his boots off. He saw Kias move and glanced up to see him drop to the floor and begin removing his own shoes.

 

Sam hoped Kias wasn't particularly fond of his shoes, because he wouldn't be getting them back; they'd have to be destroyed along with all of his other clothes. Sam noted that Kias' shoes looked more like house slippers than proper shoes, completely unlike the practical boots Sam had been wearing. They weren't designed to be worn outside and, considering they were in pretty good condition, Sam guessed Kias generally hadn’t.

 

"You took him." Dr Austin sounded seriously unimpressed. " _Why_ did you take him?"

 

"Because I'm an idiot," Sam snapped, and then immediately regretted it. He respected Dr Austin, and Kias was beginning to look even more nervous, and he just... he just kept fucking things up.

 

Dr Austin gave Sam a moment to calm down and work on his shoelaces before she spoke again. "Are you two..." She gestured between them.

 

Sam made a face. "No. It's either more stupid or less stupid than that. I can't decide. He's just some random dude who was there when I was leaving and he helped me and... leaving him just felt like a shitty thing to do."

 

Dr Austin nodded and sighed, seeming at least partly satisfied by that answer. She glanced at Kias, who'd removed his shoes and was staring at his toes as he wiggled them. Sam was surprised to see that Kias' feet were clean and hardly calloused at all. The guy was a mess of contradictions. His malnutrition and cheap, threadbare clothing suggested he was quite poor, but he clearly didn't do much in the way of manual labour.

 

Dr Austin eyed the bandage wrapped around Kias' stomach. "He's hurt?"

 

"Yup," Sam confirmed. "One of the drones' lasers. Then my shuttle fucked it up even more... It's kind of a mess."

 

"What's his name?" she asked. "Not that he'd understand me if I spoke to him, I suppose."

 

"Kias," Sam told her, and Kias looked up at the sound of his name. Sam hauled himself up, patting Kias reassuringly on the head before tossing his and Kias' shoes into the bin.

 

"Hmm." Dr Austin walked over to her desk and began to put on a pair of sterile gloves. "Well, I prefer to treat patients privately, what with being an actual professional doctor and all." She snapped the first glove on. "But I suppose I'll need you for translation purposes."

 

Sam frowned at that suggestion. He really wanted to get out of here before word of just how badly he'd messed up reached his superiors. Maybe he could just kind of tell Kias to behave himself and then go and have his decontamination shower while Dr Austin fixed him up? It was worth a shot.

 

Sam addressed Kias in Kias' own language. "Kias. This lady is a doctor. Just... stand there and let her patch you up." Sam kicked off his pants, leaving him in only the ridiculous long underwear Kias' people had been fond of wearing. He wasn't sure why he had to wear the same underwear as the people he was blending in with when none of them would even see it.

 

" _Sam_ ," Kias murmured desperately, trying to follow when Sam turned to leave. Sam put a hand up, expression firm, and Kias stopped. Kias stayed.

 

Sam did his best to ignore Dr Austin's annoyed shouting and demands that he come back and headed for the decontamination showers.

 

#

 

The decontamination shower wasn't the relaxing time out Sam needed, but it would have to do. The liquid was cold because it was easily damaged by heat and had a rather strong chemically odour.

 

Sam was glad he hadn't had to take Kias with him; the liquid stung wounds, and Sam would have worried about Kias taking off the required goggles and getting the stuff in his eyes. Showering with the guy probably wouldn't have helped with the awkwardness of their relationship, either.

 

Sam had done nothing but mess up all day. He'd saved somebody's life, yes, but he wasn't sure Kias would be better off for it. What kind of a life could he have here, even if he did manage to get over all the trauma he'd suffered well enough to be otherwise happy? He could probably learn the language well enough eventually, but Sam doubted Kias could ever fit in.

 

Sam, meanwhile, was almost certainly going to lose his job. Though he'd been too young to do much more than sit in on meetings at the time, he had been part of the group that had conceived the very idea for his position in the first place. As soon as he had heard about it, he'd known what he wanted to do with his life. Sam had been eleven at the time. His entire education after that point beyond basic schooling had been targeted at training him for the role.

 

He relied on his job for his income and his housing, and most of his friends were his colleagues. If Sam lost his job, his entire life would be torn apart.

 

#

 

Kias wished Sam had told him what was going to happen here, and more than that he wished that Sam had told him if he would be coming back. He wished Sam had told him that he would be coming back. Though he'd never been to a doctor himself, he'd heard stories from some of the other boys who had. None of it had sounded pleasant.

 

Kias had been shocked to find that one of the boys was not intact and had asked about it later when they were alone again. The boy had been sent to a doctor as a child by his uncle. Usually those who had it done didn't bother with a doctor, but the boy's uncle had been quite wealthy.

Kias hoped that boy had died quickly. All the other people whose deaths he'd witnessed at the hands of the metal monsters had.

 

The first thing the doctor did was unbandage Kias' wound and lean down to look at it, humming contemplatively. She said something to him with a smile that didn't seem quite genuine and then led him to a high, narrow bed and helped him climb up onto it and lay down. The mattress was hard and crunkled when Kias moved.

 

There was a clicking sound and suddenly bright light shone directly into Kias' eyes. Temporarily blinded, Kias reflexively squeezed his eyes shut and twisted his face away from the painfully bright light. The doctor said something that sounded like it may have been an apology and then moved the light source so that it shone down on Kias' wound instead of in his eyes.

 

The doctor retrieved a pair of metal tweezers and a blue package full of small squares of thin white cloth damp with strange smelling liquid. The doctor settled in on a stool next to the bed and began carefully picking out any bits of foreign matter out of the wound, then wiping any blood and dirt off it with the damp bits of cloth. Each time a piece of cloth got dirty, she would take out a new one and continue.

 

The doctor was careful with the tweezers, but they were sharp and hurt when they poked him. Bits of Kias' shirt had burnt off and stuck to the wound, and when she peeled them off it felt like she was peeling off bits of his skin. The liquid on the pieces of cloth made it sting even more. Kias gritted his teeth and stayed quiet.

 

By the time the doctor spoke again and backed away, the wound looked clean and was bleeding only slightly from a few of the areas she’d picked burnt cloth off of. She headed into a side room and Kias waited patiently while she shuffled around.

 

When the doctor stepped back into the room she was carrying a rectangular sheet of... something. It was off-white and flat, like a sheet of paper but with more weight to it so that it sagged slightly when she held it up. She said something to Kias as she approached, smiled, and then took hold of the rectangular thing and began peeling a piece of paper off of one side. Kias wasn't sure what he was looking at until she peeled the paper off the other side, and even then he wasn't sure, but he certainly had some ideas.

 

It looked like a piece of skin. A rectangular sheet of skin, thin enough that it was partially translucent. Kias realised his heart was thumping hard in his chest and his breathing felt constricted. He did his best to calm himself. Panic always led to poor decisions.

 

But how did she have a sheet of skin? _Was_ it skin? What was it for and where did she get it? Had it been cut off of someone else? Were they living or dead at the time? If they had been dead, had they been killed for the purpose of harvesting the skin?

 

One of those questions, what it was for, was answered when the doctor stepped closer and carefully placed the skin over Kias' wound, smoothing it down. It was _cold_. Kias shuddered involuntarily and the muscles in his stomach jumped, pulling on his wound. He wished Sam hadn't left him. He wanted to ask what the skin was, where it had come from, even though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

 

The doctor sat next to the bed and talked to him for a while after that, her voice calm and friendly. It just made Kias feel awkward. He didn't know if he was supposed to be responding in some way despite the fact that he obviously didn't speak her language. He didn't know if it would be more appropriate to look her in the eye while she spoke or to avert his gaze. He didn't know if he should act as though listening attentively or whether that would be considered pointless because he obviously couldn't understand. He wished she'd leave him alone.

 

Just as Kias was starting to relax, having realised that the doctor didn't seem bothered by his lack of response, things changed again. The doctor hopped off the stool and went to the side of the room outside of Kias' range of vision.

 

She returned a moment later carrying a bucket which she filled from some strange indoor water pump with a basin underneath it. She then took out a large, translucent jar from a cupboard beneath the water pump and put two scoops of the blue powder from the jar into the bucket of water. She carried the bucket to the middle of the room and placed it on the floor, then took a small dark blue sheet off one of the shelves and shook it out, laying it flat on the floor next to the bucket. The sheet was stiff and didn't appear to be made of fabric.

 

She smiled at Kias and said his name, then went over and helped him down off the bed and led him to the middle of the room where she indicated for him to stand on the sheet. Kias noted that the skin she'd stuck to his stomach earlier stayed where it was, showing no signs of peeling off.

It took the doctor gesturing a few times in a few different ways before Kias realised she wanted him to take the rest of his clothes off, but once he understood he hurried to comply despite the fear tightening in his belly. The consequences for defiance, he had learnt, were always worse than whatever he was trying to resist.

 

The doctor soaked a thick cloth in the blue liquid and began wetting Kias down with it, starting with his hair and scalp while carefully avoiding getting it on his face. It had a strong, strange smell that Kias didn't like, and when she started on his back he found that it stung the few small scratches he'd collected while running from the metal monsters. It was cold, too. The room had been just a bit too cold to be lying around mostly naked before, but now that he was completely naked and being doused in cold liquid he was shivering within seconds.

 

She continued on down his back and then over his ass, swiping the cloth between the cleft of it. Kias inhaled sharply and shuffled, wanting to move away from the sting the liquid caused in the tender flesh it found but catching and stopping himself before he actually did. With all that had happened it seemed like far more time had passed that day than truly had. The sting reminded him that it had been just hours since everything had changed.

 

Though Kias had tried not to respond to the pain, either the doctor noticed or she had intended to examine him more intimately regardless.

 

#

 

"Did you have sex with him?" was the first thing Dr Austin asked when Sam returned.

 

Sam let out a sigh of irritation. He'd just about managed to calm himself down, but he was getting the feeling his efforts were about to go to waste. "I told you I met him when I was leaving, so either you think I lied, or you think I fucked him when he was badly injured. Either way, thanks for your vote of confidence, doc."

 

Dr Austin lifted her hands in a sign of surrender. "Sorry, sorry. It's just..." She hesitated. "Well, _someone_ did. Recently."

 

Sam narrowed his eyes and tried to keep his calm. "So you were accusing me of not just fucking him, but doing it roughly enough to leave visible damage? Nice."

 

"I said sorry." Dr Austin glanced at Kias who was very much completely naked aside from the fresh bandage wrapped around his stomach and looking very nervous. He was shaking slightly, but it was hard to say whether that was from fear or cold. "I didn't think you did, I just wanted to confirm. There are signs of older damage, too."

 

Sam did his best to keep his eyes off Kias, who was looking about as uncomfortable with his nudity as Sam was. Sam knew Kias would have to stay naked while the decontamination fluid dried, but did he really have to just stand there in the middle of the room? It really did not help the awkwardness of the conversation he was having with Dr Austin.

 

The idea that someone had hurt Kias like that, hurt him bad enough to scar, made Sam's heart clench painfully. Everyone who had hurt Kias was now almost certainly dead or would be soon, but Sam couldn't help wanting to beat the shit out of them anyway. They weren't there, though, and Dr Austin was, so she was the one who took the brunt of his anger.

 

"Maybe I should be more concerned about how closely you examined him to find all this shit out," Sam said accusingly, a growl in his voice. "I know you can't have gotten his consent."

 

"No, Sam, I couldn't have," Dr Austin shot back, equally irate. "I wonder how I could possibly have gotten consent for that. If only there was someone who could communicate with him!"

 

"You could have waited for me," Sam said, but he already knew that was a weak argument.

 

"Frankly, when you were gone for thirty minutes doing something that should have taken half that, waiting for you really did not seem to be something I could rely on. Getting things over with as quickly as possible was my priority."

 

Sam was still kind of annoyed at her for doing what'd she'd done and he wasn't sure of the legality of it all, but he knew it was mostly his own fault. She was just trying to do her job and help Kias. He was being selfish.

 

Sam glanced over at Kias again and took in his wide eyes and fearful gaze and the slight shaking of his body and his anger rose again. "He's scared," Sam said. "You scared him."

 

Dr Austin looked unimpressed. "No, Sam, I didn't. _You_ scared him by leaving him alone with a stranger without explaining what was going to happen to him. And you know what? He didn't look half as frightened until you came back."

 

Sam let out a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Whatever Dr Austin had done, she was right: Sam was the real problem here. Arguing with her was only scaring Kias more.

 

"Do you know anything about what might have happened to him?" Dr Austin asked after Sam had shrunk back and stayed quiet, and then hastened to add, "From studying his culture."

 

"The rape of teenage boys wasn't a part of their culture I explored, no," Sam said, trying to keep the deprecation out of his voice as his hackles rose again. "I prefer to find the positive points of a society to remember them by."

 

"Maybe you could ask him about it," Dr Austin suggested. "About what happened."

 

Sam made a face. "Yeah, I'm sure he wants to talk to me about it. That would totally make him feel super comfortable around me." Sam hopped up onto the hard, uncomfortable med bay bed. "I mean, I care, I think hurting someone like that is a terrible thing to do to, but if I tried talking to him about it I'd probably just say the wrong thing and make it worse."

 

Dr Austin stared at Sam silently for several long moments. "I'm not saying you wouldn't be likely to put your foot in your mouth a few times, but he's going to need someone to talk to and he doesn't have a whole lot of options." She went over to the shelves on the far side of the room and began taking things down. "I need you to help me give him a few injections. After that, the Marshal would like to speak to you."

 

Sam stared at her in shock. "You _told_ him?"

 

#

 

Kias had been relieved when Sam had come back, but his anxiety had returned full force when Sam had immediately started arguing with the doctor again. Kias was pretty sure they were arguing about him, and Sam looked angrier than ever. Kias stayed still and quiet and hoped that would be enough to keep the anger from being directed at him. He was going to have to rely on Sam for his protection, and if he displeased Sam he didn't know what would happen.

 

Eventually their argument appeared to have ended, and Sam turned to Kias. Kias wondered if perhaps he should be kneeling instead of standing. Would that be more respectful? Would Sam be more pleased by that? Kias had never been trained to kneel except on request, but he knew some people preferred such acts of submission. He didn't have too much time to consider it, though, as Sam was already leading him back over to the narrow bed and helping him up. Sam sat down on it beside him, close enough that their thighs touched.

 

Sam was now wearing a white cotton shirt and matching pants, but Kias was still naked. Kias wondered if he would get new clothes soon too, or perhaps be allowed to put his old ones back on. He was accustomed enough to being naked around strangers, but it added an extra layer of vulnerability to an already frightening and unpredictable situation.

 

"Remember this?" Sam asked him, showing Kias a device similar to the one that had been used to prick his skin earlier in the strange room.

 

Kias remembered, but he still didn't know why it had been done. He got the feeling, though, that this wasn't the time for questions, so he simply nodded.

 

"We're going to do that again a few times." Sam held out Kias' arm while the doctor readied one of the devices. "And then I have to go somewhere, and you can put some clothes on and have a nap. This'll sting."

 

The prick of pain was only slight, and the only thing that really bothered Kias about it was not knowing what it was for. "I'm not tired." Sam's body was warm against his side, and Kias unconsciously leaned into the heat. He was cold, though he wasn't sure that was the only reason he was shaking.

 

"You will be." Sam held Kias' arm steady while the doctor cleaned the spot the device had pricked and secured a piece of fluffy fabric over it with a piece of sticky ribbon. After that was done the doctor opened the device and removed a small bottle of liquid. She replaced it with another before Sam held Kias' other arm out and they repeated the procedure.

 

They did this four times, twice on each arm, before they were done and Kias was allowed to get dressed in new clothes similar to Sam's. They were soft and comfortable, though not very warm. Sam told Kias to lay down and before spreading a heavy blanket over him.

 

Sam had been right. Kias was beginning to feel sleepy.


	4. Chapter 4

The Marshal, leaning back behind his heavy oak desk, managed to pack an impressive amount of disappointment into the long sigh he let out. "You know what you did is against the rules, so I see no point in chewing you out over it."

 

That the Marshal couldn't even be bothered berating him didn't give Sam great hope for any future value he might have to the man and the things he oversaw. Sam averted his attention to a scratch on the curved wooden arm of the chair he sat in on the other side of the desk, unable to meet the Marshal’s gaze.

 

"You could lose your job," the Marshal continued, "not to mention the legal ramifications of bringing someone in from off world without permission."

 

Sam's head jerked up. _Shit_. He hadn't even considered the legal stuff. He really did not want to end up in prison.

 

The Marshal tapped the desk with his pen. "What happens to you is not entirely up to me, as your case must go before the council. I will, however, be encouraging a reinstatement of your position and a dismissal of any criminal charges. You're young and, while your actions must never be repeated, I do not believe you have caused any great harm by taking the boy with you."

 

Sam stared at the Marshal in surprise. He hardly knew the man; he had only spoken to him privately a couple of times, and those times had been interviews in order to get his job in the first place. That the Marshal was supporting Sam after what he had done was rather unexpected. "Thank you."

 

The Marshal waved away Sam's thanks. "You will, of course, be responsible for the boy regardless of whatever else may happen.”

 

Sam nodded his head quickly. "Yes, sir."

 

"And Sam?" the Marshal said. "Don't screw this up."

  
  


#

 

Having Kias as a responsibility could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how Sam looked at it. It was good because they couldn't punish him too harshly when he had Kias to take care of, but it was bad because it might interfere with him going back to his job.

 

Overall, though, he was in a better mood when he headed back to the med bay to collect Kias. If he could just get a shower to wash off the itchy remnants of the decontamination fluid, Sam thought he might start to feel somewhere approaching all right again.

 

When Sam entered the med bay he was glad to see Kias asleep on the bed in the corner. He'd been worried Kias might try to find some small space to cram himself into like he had on the shuttle, but either the sedative effect of the painkillers had kicked in before he'd had the chance to hide himself or Kias had gotten over that particular inclination. Or perhaps Kias only felt the need to hide when Sam was around. Sam's stomach sunk at the thought.

 

"How did it go?" Dr Austin asked Sam in a hushed tone.

 

Sam smiled at her. She was his friend, and he was ready to forgive her. Sam hoped she would forgive him, too. "Better than I expected. The council still needs to talk it over and take a vote, but... yeah, it might not be too bad."

 

Dr Austin returned the smile as she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "That's good. I do want things to work out for you, Sam."

 

"Sorry I was a dick. Rough day."

 

Dr Austin patted Sam’s shoulder before turning to watch Kias' sleeping form. "I can deal with your dickishness just fine, and I'll even forgive you for it. But that boy?" She glanced back at Sam. "You need to do better for him."

 

The feeling of helplessness came flooding back into Sam. "There are so many ways I'm not qualified for this."

 

"Then be his friend." Dr Austin gripped Sam's arm, looking him firmly in the eye. "Just be his friend, and do your best."

 

#

 

The feeling of someone's hand on his shoulder gently shaking him awake had Kias reflexively curling tighter into a defensive ball. Memory of where he was quickly returned, however, as the odd smell of the liquid he'd been washed with drowned his senses. Kias twisted his neck to see Sam standing behind him, leaning against the bed.

 

"Hey." Sam smiled down at Kias. "Time to get going."

 

With Sam's help Kias climbed down off the bed and immediately found that his legs didn't quite seem to be working as they should. His head, too, still felt foggy with sleep even though the alarm of being in a strange place should have had him on high alert. He almost fell over before Sam quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him upright. After a few moments Kias managed to steady himself and Sam cautiously released his grip.

 

Sam seemed calmer now, so Kias, leaning his weight against the bed, risked asking a question. "Where are we going?"

 

"To my place. We can take nice warm showers, get something to eat, and then go to bed."

 

"Shower," Kias repeated, confused. Kias only understood a shower as being a kind of rain. He didn't bother asking, though. It was just one more thing Kias didn't understand, and his thoughts were currently about as confused and groggy as his legs were. He wondered if it was because of his injury. Maybe he was getting ill.

 

#

 

Sam was glad to find nobody in the common area of the apartment when he brought Kias in. He could answer their questions and deal with them pointing out what an idiot he was later. For now, Sam just wanted to get both of them clean, fed, and settled in for the night.

 

New problems, however, quickly became apparent.

 

It was easy enough to stick some protective plastic over Kias' bandage to keep it from getting wet, but the fact that Kias didn't even know what a shower was complicated things. That Kias was still quite groggy from the pain killers and needed Sam's help just to stay on his feet most of the time didn't help matters either.

 

Eventually, Sam gave up. "You're doing this yourself next time."

 

#

 

Kias had never seen a shower before, but once Sam explained what it was for Kias appreciated how useful such a thing could be. It could make warm water pour down from it like rain any time you wanted, without needing to start a fire to heat it first or anything. Kias didn't understand how it worked, but he was happy that at least he understood the purpose of it.

 

Another thing Kias had never seen before was a man with Sam's skin tone naked. The Northerners had skin only a little darker than Sam's, but as they rarely lived in Kias' city, only visited it, he'd never ended up working alongside one.

 

The Northerners had laws barring sex between anyone but a man and a woman, so they only rarely received Northern customers who sought to fulfil their desires discreetly. None of them had ever chosen Kias, which had probably been a good thing; they had bulky, powerful bodies, and looked like they could easily break someone if they unleashed their full strength. Sam was certainly in shape, but his body was lithe and beautiful, designed for precision and speed rather than brute force. Kias stumbled and Sam caught him and propped him back up before he could fall.

 

Belonging to Sam wouldn't be so bad, Kias thought as Sam led him under the shower's spray. Although Sam got angry sometimes, and although he'd seen Sam hit that other man before they'd gone through the strange blackness, Sam had yet to be violent towards Kias. And if Sam wanted something from him... well, at least Sam was young and good looking and clean. Kias still hated the idea of Sam doing that to him, though. He hated it because he was starting to like Sam. He _wanted_ to like Sam.

 

"Stop staring at my dick," Sam said, and Kias realised he had been.

 

The water was neither too hot nor too cold, and it felt amazingly good against Kias' skin. The soapy washcloth Sam rubbed over his skin felt good, too, and Kias leant in against Sam more heavily than he needed to to remain upright.

 

Kias had been waiting for Sam to do something, for him to put Kias’ body to whatever use he desired, but though Sam’s hands were gentle as they washed him they never lingered. Kias knew he probably should have been doing something to make himself more pleasing to Sam, who wasn’t even hard yet, but he could barely even muster the energy to lift his arm when Sam asked him to. Kias let his tired eyes slide shut and surrendered himself to Sam’s patient manipulation as he was washed.

 

#

 

By the time he'd finished washing himself and Kias, Sam was really regretting the whole showering together thing. Whether it was the pain killers making Kias a little out of it or it was simply because he was from a very different culture, Kias was pretty terrible at keeping his eyes to himself. That, combined with Sam having to wash him and make sure he stayed on his feet, had made for a very awkward and uncomfortably intimate experience.

 

The thought of what Kias had been through, what had been done to him, had at least kept Sam from finding it at all arousing. Drugged up and possibly underage rape victims were more pitiable than sexy, no matter how fixated they were on Sam's anatomy.

 

Sam dried Kias and gave him a set of pyjamas to wear, the pants of which stayed up only because they had a string to tie them. He settled Kias in on his bed, told him to stay, and then went down to the kitchen to find something for them to eat.

 

Sam remembered when he'd first come to this world, when he'd been alone and confused and so scared. He remembered how the strange foods he hadn't recognised had made him even more upset. He'd wanted his mother's cooking. Sam had responded with anger, which didn't seem to be how Kias dealt with things, but he thought Kias might find the situation just a little bit less upsetting if the food was at least somewhat familiar.

 

Sam wasn't sure what kind of grain had been used as a base for most of the meals he'd eaten while in Kias' city, and he didn't think they had any of the same vegetables besides carrots. Sam ultimately settled on rice with carrot, broccoli, and beef. The beef wasn't actually _real_ beef because land was too precious to waste on raising cattle, but it tasted the same so he doubted Kias would be able to tell the difference.

 

The meal wasn't exactly like whatever Kias might have been used to, but Sam hoped it would be close enough that it wouldn't bother him too much. Otherwise, perhaps he would be hungry enough not to care. He'd had no complaints about the nutrition bar, and those tasted pretty terrible.

 

#

 

Kias should have felt frightened when Sam had left him alone again, but he hadn’t been able to quite muster the energy for anything beyond mild concern. The clothes he'd been given were soft and comfortable, if a bit too big, and the material they were made of was weaved finer than any Kias had ever seen. He had tried to stay awake, to stay alert in the strange surroundings, but when he’d felt sleep tugging at his mind he had been too exhausted to resist it.

 

Kias was stirred from sleep by the feeling of the bed dipping behind himself and had to fight the urge not to grumble and shrug off the hand that reached out to gently shake his shoulder. He'd learnt well to be pliant and yielding when he was awake and alert, but his deeper instincts were still that of a free man and he had no interest in sharing in anyone’s affections just then.

 

"Kias," a heavily accented voice whispered, drawing Kias further out of sleep. As Kias opened his eyes and took in the strange room, his memories slowly fell back into place. Oh. He twisted his head around to blink up at Sam.

 

Sam reached out a hand towards Kias' face, then stilled for a moment before letting it fall back down to the bed instead. "I brought you dinner."

 

'Dinner' wasn't like anything Kias had ever been allowed to eat. His mother had raised him alone and had been too poor to afford things like meat or fresh vegetables, and then she'd died and Kias had been on the streets, alone, with nothing to eat but what he could beg or steal. After he was taken off the streets he had received regular meals, but they'd been small and basic to save money and keep his body from developing too much masculinity to be appealing to their customers.

 

Kias looked at Sam with wide eyes, then back at the bowl he was being offered. There was so much of it. Kias didn't know if he could eat that much, but he planned to enjoy trying. "Thank you," Kias mumbled as he took the bowl Sam offered him.

 

#

 

When Kias had gone to sleep Sam had been beside him, but when he awoke he was alone. A niggling anxiety began to build in his gut. The door was cracked open, and Kias could smell food cooking. Maybe Sam was getting more food? Kias hoped so. There were no windows in here so he had no frame of reference for how long he'd been asleep, but he was hungry again despite the very large meal he'd had before they'd gone to bed, so Kias guessed it must have been quite a while.

 

Kias looked around the room, taking in details he'd been too exhausted to notice the night before. Many of the items in the room confused Kias, but at least some things were recognisable. A shelf and the books that were on it were things Kias understood, and the bed he was sitting on and its blankets and pillows were all things he was familiar with. There were some other pieces of furniture, such as a desk and table, that were similar to those Kias had seen on his own world. The rest, though...

 

There was a black boxy thing standing up on the desk with dark glass covering the side facing Kias, and another black boxy thing on the desk in front of it. Kias recognised the thing sitting in front of the desk as a chair, but the bottom half was strangely shaped and ended in wheels instead of legs. On the wall in front of the bed was a large sheet of black glass very much like the black glass on the boxy thing on the desk.

 

When Kias got up and examined some of the smaller objects on the desk and shelf, he found more and more that he didn’t understand what things were or what they were for. He picked up a small, roughly rectangular object with bumps on one side, and when he accidentally pressed one of the bumps it beeped at him.

 

Kias promptly dropped it, then stared with worried eyes at where it had fallen onto the ground. He wasn’t sure whether to be more scared about whether he’d damaged it, or about why it had made a noise when he’d touched it. It clearly wasn’t alive. Kias cautiously picked it up, careful not to touch any of the bumps, and found it was undamaged. Relieved, he put it back where he’d found it and vowed to keep his hands off of Sam’s things from then on.

 

Kias was beginning to get anxious. Well, more anxious than the new low level anxiety that he’d carried with him since arriving on Sam’s world. It had been a while since Kias had woken up, and Sam still hadn’t returned. He was alone and he didn't know the rules or what he was supposed to be doing or not doing and where was Sam? Was he downstairs? Did he expect Kias to go down and join him when he woke up?

 

Kias approached the door quietly and peeked out.

 

He could hear talking, so there were definitely people down there, but when Kias crept over to the bannister and peered over the edge he discovered that the voices were coming from an open doorway to a room out of his line of vision. As Sam wasn't in the room with Kias and he wasn't in the adjoining washroom, Kias concluded Sam must be downstairs with the other people. Kias hesitated, but fear of missing out on another of the delicious meals he'd had last night ultimately convinced him to head downstairs towards the voices.

 

Once downstairs, Kias approached the doorway on quiet feet and snuck a look around the corner into the room with the voices. The various objects in the room, large and small, baffled Kias, but as people were cooking in there it was immediately obvious that the room was a kitchen. It took only a moment for Kias to realise that no, Sam was not there. A lot of other people were, though, and they were all strangers to Kias.

 

Kias backed away quickly and headed back to the stairs, hoping he hadn't been spotted, but when he glanced behind him he saw that a man had followed him out. The man was large and broad shouldered, and when he greeted Kias in an unknown language his voice was deep and gravelly. He was smiling at Kias, but it was somehow terrifying. Kias ran.

 

A fear of strangers, especially strange men, was something Kias had learnt as a child, but the last couple of years had thoroughly instilled it. He now knew not only many of the things men could do to someone like him, but also that there would always be something new they could do that Kias hadn't even thought of yet.

 

If Sam had instructed Kias to entertain the man who was pursuing him up the stairs, Kias wouldn't have resisted. Sam owned him and Kias knew defying the instructions of someone who owned him would only make things worse. But Sam wasn't there, and Sam hadn't told Kias anyone else was allowed to touch him, so Kias preferred to err on the side of not getting fucked by this rather large man.

 

Kias hoped he wouldn't be followed into Sam's room, that the man would respect Sam's privacy more than he seemed to respect Sam's property, but he found himself disappointed. The man paused just inside the doorway and smiled at Kias again, saying more words Kias didn't understand. When the man took another step towards him, Kias lashed out like a cornered animal.

 

The man shouted and fell to the ground, and Kias dashed into the washroom while the man was still disabled. It took Kias a few moments to remember how to lock the door as Sam had shown him the night before after he'd explained to Kias how to use the toilet, but once it clicked into place Kias felt much safer. Outside he could hear the sound of people thumping up the stairs as they came to investigate the noise.

 

People knocked on the door, rattled the knob, and tried to speak to Kias. Kias didn't understand what they were saying. Kias just wanted Sam. He stayed, curled in the corner of the shower stall, and waited.

 

#

 

When Sam returned from speaking to Dr Austin, he found Otis sitting in the common area in one of the armchairs, legs spread and a bag of frozen vegetables held to his crotch.

 

"You know," said Otis, "when you told me to 'watch out for' the kid you'd rescued, this is not what I thought you meant."

 

Sam let out a long sigh. Just when he thought things were settling down. "What did you do?"

 

"Nothing!" Otis lifted his frozen vegetables, gesturing wildly with them. "He came downstairs, and then he went back upstairs so I went to see if he was all right because he looked a little freaked out. And then he kicked me in the nuts."

 

Sam groaned. He really should have assigned someone else to keep an eye out for Kias, preferably one of the girls, but Sam had wanted to speak to Dr Austin about Kias before she started work for the day and Otis had been the only one awake when Sam had left. "Here's a tip: next time he runs away from you, don't chase him."

 

"I think I'll just never go near the little bastard again, thanks," Otis called out to Sam as Sam walked away, heading towards the stairs.

 

#

 

Things had been quiet for a while when Kias heard Sam's bedroom door open and shut, followed by a tap on the washroom door and Sam's tentative voice. "Can I come in?"

 

Kias got up and opened the door immediately.

 

"I hear you kicked a guy in the balls,” Sam said casually. He didn't look angry, but he was watching Kias with a careful, assessing gaze.

 

Kias glanced away anxiously. "I didn't know if you were okay with him, so..."

 

Sam leant against the doorway. "I'm okay with him. I told him to come see you if you woke up, actually... He's a little angry about the ball kicking."

 

Kias winced and rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, Sam."

 

Not that he was sorry in the sense that he felt any guilt about what he’d done, but he was sorry in the sense that he regretted his actions. Getting on Sam’s bad side was the last thing Kias wanted to do.

 

Though Sam was still showing no signs of anger Kias now knew he had done something wrong and because of that he felt trapped inside the small room. Sam's body blocked the doorway completely. He wished Sam had just told him, warned him to expect a visit from the man and to do as the man wished. Now even if Sam wasn't angry with Kias the man would be, and things would likely be much worse.

 

Sam dismissed Kias' apology with a careless shrug. "For future reference, though, you should know that I'm okay with everyone who lives here. We're all friends and stuff, so..." Sam smiled and patted Kias on the shoulder before heading back into the bedroom. Kias gaped in horror at his back.

 

Kias had found it unusual that Sam had taken him but then shown no interest in him whenever he was naked. Sam wasn't interested in him, but it seemed he knew others who were and was rather a good sharer. Kias would have nicer food here and nicer clothes, but it was beginning to look like not much had changed in Kias' life besides his surroundings.

 

#

 

Sam was secretly quite pleased with Kias for kicking Otis in the testicles. Not because Otis particularly deserved it, but because Sam was glad that Kias both knew how and was willing to defend himself. Not that he should ever have need to, but it was definitely an improvement over curling up in a ball and hiding whenever he was afraid.

 

Less pleasing, however, was that Kias didn't look like he was getting over the event in a hurry. It was hard to tell, as Sam hadn't know him very long and during that time he'd been constantly anxious, but the way he stuck close to Sam, eyes darting around nervously when they went downstairs, told Sam his worries were still lingering. He'd had to take Kias back to their room and return for their food alone when Kias had spotted Otis. He'd gone stiff and pale and his breathing had sped up. The food seemed to calm him down again, though. Kias had a very healthy appetite.

 

Kias didn't like to be left alone, either, though he didn't say so. It was so plain on his face when Sam had said he had to go out for a little while that Sam had ended up taking Kias with him. In truth Sam would have preferred a little time to himself, but right then Kias' needs were more important.

 

"We're going to need a bigger place," Sam told the administrator in charge of housing assignment.

 

The administrator eyed Sam critically, peering at him over her purely aesthetic eyewear. No doubt she'd heard a lot of things about what people 'needed' in their housing. "What are you looking for?"

 

"Two bedrooms, preferably two bathrooms, and preferably the place to ourselves." Sam tipped his head in Kias' direction, smiling. "He tends to kick strangers in the junk."

 

"Right." The administrator looked rather unimpressed as she typed things into her computer and skimmed through pages of information. "I can get you one large room with basic kitchen appliances and an attached bathroom. Otherwise, you'll be looking at a lot of junk kicking."

 

Sam frowned. He hadn't expected all of his requests to be met, but he had hoped to at least have his own room. "Make sure there are two beds."


	5. Chapter 5

They were moving, Sam had told Kias, because Sam's old room was too small. Kias wasn't quite sure how this plan meshed with Sam's intention to whore Kias out to the people he had lived with, but he’d decided not to bring that up.

 

First, Sam put all of his belongings into boxes to transport them. Kias wanted to help — felt he _should_ be helping — but after what had happened with the beeping object Kias didn’t think touching Sam’s things was such a good idea. So instead Kias sat awkwardly in the middle of the bed, knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, and worried that Sam would be angry that he hadn't helped. Kias had a lot of worries.

 

Some of Sam's friends had come to help them carry Sam's belongings, and Kias was relieved to see that the man he'd attacked wasn't among them. He kept waiting to be punished, for Sam to let the man take his revenge, but it kept not happening. Kias was confused, but he didn't dare question it.

 

To get to their new room they had to go into a very small room with doors that opened all on their own. Once everyone had entered, Sam pressed something on the wall and the doors closed again. Kias felt an odd lurching sensation in his stomach, and when the doors opened again he discovered they were not in the same place they'd entered from.

 

Kias wondered if this room was like the strange room he had escaped from his world in with Sam. This room seemed to have moved its location in the same way, but it hadn't shaken or caused Kias pain. None of the others seemed to find any of it at all remarkable.

 

Their new room was, as Sam had told Kias, bigger than the one they'd left, and like the one they’d left it had no windows. The floor was hard and grey but smooth, and the room already appeared to be fully furnished. Not that Kias actually knew what furnishings were considered requirements here.

 

Kias didn't recognise most of the large boxy things taking up all of the space in one corner of the room. There were counter tops and draws and what Kias now knew to be a basin and a water pump, though, so Kias tentatively guessed the boxy things were for food storage and preservation. He hoped they were, anyway. He liked the idea of having food so close at hand.

 

There were two beds in this room, and one of the first things Sam did when they entered was to indicate that one of them was for Kias. In truth, Kias hadn't minded sharing a bed with Sam at all. Though being in the same bed as someone with power over him was something that would generally be more frightening than reassuring, Sam had so far provided him with more security than he had harm. Besides, the beds seemed unnecessarily large for just one person. But, Kias supposed, perhaps Sam wanted to be able to allow others to share Kais' bed but not his own.

 

Kias was glad to be assigned the bed furthest from the door. He liked being as far away as possible from anyone who might enter.

 

The furniture in this room was similar to that which had been in Sam's old room, and most of it was recognisable. Shelves, drawers, a desk and one of those strange chairs. There was also another of those large sheets of black glass on the wall behind Sam's bed. Kias still couldn't guess what they might be for.

 

Kias explored the room leading off of their new room and discovered it to be a washroom complete with shower, water pump and basin, toilet and, bizarrely, what appeared to be a bathtub. Kias wasn't sure why anyone would have a bath when they could instead have a shower, but perhaps the novelty wore off.

 

#

 

Sam wasn't happy with the room. It was dull and ugly and incredibly basic, and it wouldn't grant either one of them any privacy unless they felt like hanging out in the bathroom. Plus it had concrete floors. Sam probably should have checked the room out before he'd agreed to take it and moved his stuff over here, but the move really had been necessary. They needed the space, and Sam really hadn't wanted to share a bed with Kias forever. He knew very little of what had happened to Kias, but what he did know was enough to make certain things uncomfortable.

 

Sam flopped back on his new bed and turned to watch Kias examine the sheets on his own bed. Everyone had left and they could finally relax, and Sam wanted nothing more than to take a nice long nap. There were still a couple more things they needed to get done, though.

 

Reluctantly, Sam pushed himself back up and turned to Kias. "We really need to get you some clothes of your own. You've been wearing my pyjamas all day."

 

#

 

Kias blinked down at the clothes he was wearing, the nicest clothes he'd ever worn. "Really?"

 

Sam nodded before going over to one of the still packed boxes and sorting through it. "The pants have a string on them so..." Sam shrugged. "They were the only pants I have that wouldn't have just fallen down to your ankles the moment you put them on. You're ridiculously skinny." Sam retrieved something thin and rectangular with a surface area about the size of a large book from one of the boxes. "I gave you the shirt you’re wearing because it matches."

 

Sam tossed the strange black slab onto Kias' bed and then went through one of the boxes, pulling out what looked like a long, thick yellow ribbon. "First," Sam said, "we need to measure you."

 

Kias was pleased to realise that, within that context, he recognised the purpose of the ribbon. It was a measuring tape. Nobody had ever cared enough about the fit of Kias' clothes to measure him, but he certainly knew what a measuring tape was. Understanding anything at all here was a good feeling.

 

Kias stood up and began to pull off his shirt, but Sam waved his hands to indicate for him to stop. “You can, uh, keep those on, I think. They’re thin enough not to affect the measurements much.”

 

With a shrug, Kias let his shirt fall back down. It didn’t make much sense at all, how uncomfortable Sam seemed. Kias must have violated some kind of cultural code of behaviour, but he had no idea what they might be.

 

Sam measured Kias thoroughly, his touch especially gentle when he measured around Kias’ stomach. Sam had changed Kias' bandage before they'd moved rooms and had been gentle then, too.

 

The skin the doctor had put over his wound had appeared to be even more firmly attached than it had been before. It had looked almost like it was becoming part of him. That was a disturbing thought, though, so Kias had pushed it away and focussed on being pleased the wound looked and smelled healthy and hurt a lot less than it had the day before.

 

Perhaps doctors here weren't so bad, even if the lady doctor had made him get naked and examined him in intimate places. He still wondered what she had found in her examination, and subsequently told Sam, that had made Sam get so angry. Was whatever she'd told him why Sam seemed disinterested in him physically? He assumed Sam had, at some point, had intentions towards him. There really wasn't any other reason for Sam to take him. Here, more than ever, the only way he could possibly be of use to anyone was for sex.

 

Kias parted his legs when Sam indicated, and Sam wrapped the tape measure around Kias' thigh before recording the measurement. Kias wanted Sam to be attracted to him. Sam was gentle with Kias and, Kias was beginning to learn, Sam was very kind and generous when he was in a good mood. And, well... Sam was attractive. Kias would never like the idea of being owned or taken against his will, but it would be a lot better if the person doing it was gentle and attractive.

 

Some of the other boys had come from places where they were kept as personal companions before they had grown too old to be pleasing, and it had sounded to Kias like a better life. Well, for the most part, anyway. With someone like Sam, Kias was sure it would be. He just had to convince Sam to want him again and be good enough that Sam would want to keep him for himself alone.

 

"All right." Sam tossed the measuring tape carelessly back into one of the boxes. "Now comes the fun part."

 

Sam sat on Kias' bed and retrieved the strange slab from where he'd tossed it earlier. Sam did something near the bottom of the slab and suddenly bright colours appeared on it where only blackness had been before. When Sam tapped his finger on the surface, the colours moved. Kias stared in wonderment. Would this place ever run out of new things to confuse him with?

 

Sam glanced back at Kias and smiled at his confusion. "It's a tablet."

 

The only tablets Kias had ever heard of were stone tablets on which things were inscribed. Whatever the object Sam currently had was, it was clearly neither stone nor inscribed.

 

Sam patted the spot next to him on Kias' bed. "Come here."

 

Kias obeyed, curious eyes locked on the tablet as he crawled onto the bed.

 

"Okay, I guess this is pretty weird to you." Sam tapped a few more things on the glass and more things moved. "It's pretty useful, though. We can just enter your measurements here and then choose some clothes and they'll be delivered to us tomorrow."

 

This close, Kias could see that the colours on the glass formed pictures, most of them presently of clothes. These pictures were strange, though. They didn't look like drawings or paintings. They looked like someone had taken actual clothes and somehow put their image onto the tablet. The pictures with people in them were much more disturbing. There was also what looked like text in various places but, of course, Kias was unable to read it. He'd never even learnt to read his own language.

 

"How will they know which clothes we chose?" Kias leant his cheek against Sam's shoulder and was gratified when Sam didn't shove him off. Affection, Kias had heard, was a key part of being a personal slave. They were treated more often as pets than they were toys or tools. Usually, anyway.

 

"Well," Sam tapped something, and the images changed to those of people wearing shirts in various colours and styles, "we choose the ones we want here, and then it sends them a message and tells them what we selected. Like a letter, only... well, like a picture of a letter on the screen."

 

The word 'screen' was another Kias didn't understand in this context, but he guessed that Sam meant the glass surface of the tablet. Kias didn't really understand how any of this could work, but much like the shower he could understand the usefulness of it. You could see pictures of clothes and choose the ones you liked without needing to get out of bed, and ones that fit perfectly would be delivered to you the very next day.

 

Kias wondered if it was possible to buy other things with the tablet, but he didn't ask. He didn't want Sam to misunderstand and think he was asking for gifts. It already made Kias uncomfortable thinking about how much he would owe Sam for the new clothes he was buying Kias and all the food Kias ate. Kias couldn't imagine being worth as much as all of it must have been costing Sam. What was all this going to cost him later, when Sam finally put him to use?

 

"Here, take a look." Sam pulled Kias closer so he could see the screen better. "Tell me which ones you want."

 

#

 

Kias hadn't seemed as pleased with picking out clothes as Sam had hoped, and Sam wondered if perhaps Kias was unhappy with the styles. They were certainly quite different from what was typical of Kias' culture and nothing like the loose, plain clothes Kias had been wearing when they'd met. Sam hoped that when the clothes they picked out arrived Kias would feel better about things. Sam had found the clothes he'd had to wear when undercover on Kias' world to be terribly itchy and uncomfortable.

 

“There’s one more thing we have to do,” Sam told Kias after they were finished clothes shopping. Kias was leaning against Sam's side and, after he had gotten over the initial weirdness of the casual contact with someone who was practically a stranger, Sam had started to find it kind of nice. He’d been busy with work and hadn’t been around anyone it would be appropriate to be physically affectionate with for months. Apparently his body had begun to crave touch without him realising it.

 

Kias pushed closer and made a sound of interest as Sam brought up the forms they would need to fill out on his tablet. Kias rarely spoke more than a few words at a time and often responded non-verbally. Whether that was normal for him or it was due to being somewhere new and scary, Sam didn't know.

 

As what Sam had done broke a ton of rules and was never supposed to have happened, there had been no forms specifically designed for their situation. The ones Sam had been sent appeared to be hastily edited to suit their needs.

 

“All I need is for you to answer a few questions,” Sam said as he skimmed through the forms. “Full name?”

 

“Kias Vuros,” Kias replied quietly, and Sam entered it into the form, inventing his own spelling.

 

“Date of birth?” Sam mumbled to himself dubiously. Because he was sure Kias's civilisation totally ran on a calendar system identical to theirs. “How old are you?”

 

“Eighteen and a quarter year,” Kias replied. “I'm not sure of the day precisely, but I was born in the summer.”

 

Though Kias had lived on a different world from Sam, it was also in a way the same world. Just an alternate universe version of it in an earlier time period. Eighteen and a quarter years there would be eighteen and a quarter years on Sam's world.

 

There wasn't much else for Kias to help Sam with on the form as the rest was mostly Sam explaining the details of how Kias had come to be in Sam's care and how Kias had been injured. Recounting it all and reminding himself of all the mistakes he had made brought back all the feelings of guilt, shame, and anger that Sam had just begun to be able to bury, and by the time he was finished Sam was left feeling restless and confined.

 

He tried to show Kias some more things on the tablet and even tried to get Kias to play a game on it, but Kias seemed disinterested and moody. That was to be expected, Sam reasoned, with everything he had been through, but it left Sam with very little to do.

 

Kias didn't want Sam to share entertainment with him, Kias didn't want to be left alone, and Kias got anxious whenever they were around other people. Sam could no longer even think about feeling regret over saving Kias without feeling sick, but it had definitely made his life more difficult. When Kias was sad and seemed so resistant to being cheered up, it made Sam feel helpless.

 

Sam sighed and tossed his tablet aside. He was hungry. “Come on. Let’s go out.”

 

Sam felt a bit awkward taking Kias out to the courtyard dressed in pyjamas, but Kias gave no indication he minded. Either he'd forgotten what the clothes he was wearing were, or he simply didn't care. Besides, the courtyard was pretty casual anyway, and Sam doubted Kias was the first person to come down to grab something to eat in their pyjamas. It was almost late enough that people might not think Kias had been wearing them all day.

 

The courtyard was in the middle of the compound and served all the people who worked there, whether they were people who travelled through the portals to study new worlds like Sam, researchers, engineers, or anyone else whose job involved the portal the compound was built around.

 

Though he still clung close to Sam, Kias seemed less nervous this time. Sam wondered if that was due to Kias' tendency to be easily motivated by food or whether Kias had just needed some time alone to relax before he could face the rest of the world. He even allowed Sam to leave him sitting alone at their table while Sam went and got their food without appearing too concerned. If this pattern continued, Sam might eventually be able to get some semblance of his life back.

 

#

 

Things had become much easier once Kias had realised and accepted what his role would have to be. After all, Kias had spent the last two and a half years with no say in what happened in his life and no guarantee of safety, and he'd eventually managed to adjust enough to stay sane and alive.

 

There were many strange things here that Kias didn't understand, but the things he ought to fear were likely to be the same. If anything things would be easier for him, as Sam was far nicer than anyone else who had ever regarded Kias as their property. If Sam wanted to do something to endanger Kias he would do it with or without Kias' cooperation, but Kias trusted that if Sam wished for him to be safe, he would be. The best thing Kias could do was be cooperative and accommodating.

 

Kias was glad to see the sky again. Before he'd come here he'd at least had a window to look out of, even if there had been bars across it to keep him from escaping. Kias ate the delicious fried meat and potatoes Sam bought him slowly, enjoying the cool breeze against his skin. He watched as other people went about their evenings, buying and eating their dinner while they talked with friends before heading back inside one of the surrounding buildings. Everyone seemed happy and calm. Things were okay, and he would be okay.

 

#

 

"Would you like to watch a—" Sam paused when he realised that Kias' language had no word for 'movie', and that Kias would have no idea what a movie was anyway. Sam patted the spot next to him on his bed. "Come here."

 

Kias looked cautious but he obeyed anyway, and it occurred to Sam that inviting someone who had likely been raped repeatedly into his bed without explanation may not have been the best way to go about things. Even so, Sam was pretty sure Kias would have concluded by now that Sam had no interest in hurting him.

 

"Look," Sam said after Kias had settled in next to him a bit closer than Sam had intended. Sam pushed a button on the remote he was holding, bringing the television that hung on the wall behind Sam's bed to life.

 

Kias jumped slightly at the sudden sound and motion but relaxed again after Sam gave him a reassuring grin. Sam browsed through the movie selections, finally settling on an older animated children's movie.

 

"You won't be able to understand the words," Sam said, "but you can probably figure out what's going on by watching the pictures."

 

It didn't look like Sam had any reason to be concerned about Kias fearing being raped. Sam was surprised to find that, given the opportunity, Kias was actually something of a cuddler. Kias inched closer and closer to Sam until Sam eventually gave in and wrapped an arm around him, drawing Kias to his side.

 

#

 

Kias hadn't been able to follow what was going on in the thing Sam had asked him to watch with him. Something about talking animals? It was strange and slightly scary. He had, however, been able to make some headway into regaining Sam's interest, though Sam had been too absorbed in his moving pictures to do anything more than accept Kias' proximity.

 

Kias hadn't been able to stay awake through to the end of the moving pictures, and when he awoke to a loud buzzing sound he was still in Sam's bed. Though he was happy he'd been allowed to stay, he was disappointed to find that Sam had moved to the other side of the bed, out of Kias' reach.

 

Sam pushed himself out of bed with a groan and headed for the front door. After Sam opened the door, Kias could hear him talking to someone outside. Kias watched as several neatly wrapped packages were passed to Sam through the doorway.

 

"Mail," Sam said as he shut the door. He tossed one of the smaller packages at Kias and dropped the rest on the floor before crawling back under the covers. "Only problem with mail is it always comes too early. I'm going back to sleep."

 

Kias remembered receiving presents when he was a child, before his mother had died. They had been poor, but she had always managed to find the money to buy Kias a small toy or a piece of candy for his birthday and for the two biggest festivals of the year. Although Kias knew all these packages contained clothes, and even had a good idea what they looked like, he was still excited. He wanted to know what they felt like, what they would look like on him. Kias was fairly sure that since the clothes were for him Sam wouldn't mind if he opened them, so while Sam slept Kias tried on his new clothes.

 

He had black socks and white socks, a pair of boots and a pair of shoes like Sam's, ten different shirts in a variety of colours and styles, and just as many pairs of pants. One package was full of underwear like Sam's, short and tight and made of stretchy material. Even those came in different colours, which seemed more than a little extravagant. Who needed such showy underwear? But perhaps they were meant to be seen. Sam had certainly looked good in his when Kias had snuck a peek. Kias' hip bones stuck out sharply, and he didn't think he looked nearly as good in them. They certainly felt nice, though, hugging and cupping him in all the right places and never bunching or riding up.

 

By the time Sam woke up, Kias had tried on all of his clothes and picked an outfit.

 

Sam rubbed one eye sleepily while he looked Kias up and down with the other. "Looks good. You even managed to get everything on right."

 

Kias decided not to admit that he'd only become truly confident about whether clothes were inside out or the wrong way around or not when he noticed they had tags inside at the back. Some of the clothes didn't even have seams, so it wasn't unreasonable that he should be confused.

 

"Thank you for the clothes," he said instead.

 

Sam just grunted, stretched, and went to take a shower. Apparently he wasn’t much of a morning person.


	6. Chapter 6

By evening Sam was getting awfully sick of his apartment, so he decided to go and visit his ex-colleague Laura. She had quit after her first assignment, but they’d trained together so they’d already known each other quite well by then. It wasn't easy to understand the horrible realities the job brought with it until you experienced them, and Laura hadn't been nearly as good at distancing herself from them as Sam was.

 

He supposed he would have to bring Kias with him, but that was okay. Kias would have to get used to the outside world eventually, and though he hadn’t complained he had to be getting bored of being cooped up by now too.

 

Kias stuck by Sam's side and didn't say much, his eyes darting in every direction as Sam led him to the parking area under the compound. Kias was, if nothing else, mostly undemanding company.

 

"These are cars," Sam said, spreading his arms wide to indicate the many vehicles surrounding them. "They're a bit like carriages without the horses."

 

"Oh," was all Kias said, which infuriated Sam just a little. Not that Sam really wanted to explain how cars worked. He didn't even understand it that well himself, and it would have been nearly impossible for Kias to grasp the concept. Sam just wished Kias was more interested. Technology could be pretty cool.

 

#

 

"Are they like your shuttle?" Kias asked when they reached Sam's car. Its shiny red exterior looked newer and cleaner than that of most of the other cars around it.

 

The grin Sam gave Kias was inexplicably pleased. "Yeah, a bit like it, except that most cars can't fly."

 

Well, that was good, except... "Most? Can yours?"

 

"Nah, it's boring." Sam had something in his hand, and when he pressed it the car made a short loud noise followed by a click. Kias flinched back at the sudden sound.

 

Sam opened one of the car's doors and gestured for Kias to enter and, reluctantly, Kias obeyed.

 

The car was much too small inside, and the seats reminded him of the ones in the shuttle. They even had a strap, which Sam did up for him, though it was of a different style than the one in the shuttle. The one in the shuttle had had two straps that crossed over the wearer’s chest, whereas the car had only one strap. Kias pulled on it and it loosened, then slid back into place when he released it. At least it felt a little less restraining than the one in the shuttle had.

 

Sam reached forward and did something that made the car start making a quiet roaring sound and vibrating gently, and Kias really didn't want to be in it anymore. Then the car started to move, and Kias started to panic.

 

Kias had become good at keeping his panic internalised, so he didn't scream and he didn't try to get out. If the car hadn’t been safe, Kias reassured himself, Sam wouldn't have been in it. He repeated that in his head, over and over, as the car gained speed. They went up a slope and then Kias saw buildings and the black night sky. They were outside.

 

The car had been going too fast for Kias' tastes before, but once they got outside it sped up even more. Then there were other cars, more and more of them, moving too fast and too close, right next to them on both sides. Nobody seemed to be crashing, but with so many cars moving so fast Kias wasn't sure how they managed it.

 

Not all of the cars on the road were small like Sam's. Some were far larger, with a couple being as big as small buildings, though narrow to fit on the road. All the cars had bright lights on them, and bright lamp posts lined the roads. It was night time, but it was far from dark. Kias could barely see the stars, but he could see the moon. It looked just the same as the one on his world had, and Kias wondered if, somehow, it was the same moon. It was a comforting familiarity, in any case.

 

The car stopped periodically, and Kias began to see how the cars kept from running into one another. When two roads crossed, cars from each direction would take turns. It took Kias a little while longer to figure out how everyone knew when to stop and when to go, but eventually he realised that one of the many lights along the road changed colours as a signal.

 

This new knowledge made Kias feel a lot better for the few moments more that the car was stationary, but as soon as it started moving again cold dread seeped back into his gut.

 

#

 

Though Sam much preferred the freedom his shuttle gave him, he found driving relaxing. It kept him occupied without stressing him and it gave him control. Kias, however, looked like he was about to throw up, so Sam decided not to take the scenic route. Though Kias would have to get used to cars eventually, Sam didn't feel like paying to have his car cleaned.

 

The area of the city Laura's apartment was in had three levels of underground parking, so finding a spot wasn't terribly difficult. They parked on the second level, right under Laura's apartment building.

 

"Relax," Sam told Kias after letting him out of the car. "We're going to visit my friend. She's making us dinner."

 

"Oh," Kias said after several moments. He was frowning at the ground as they walked, brow creased in contemplation. Still overthinking things, then. Sam supposed he couldn't blame Kias for that, but it was frustrating. When Kias was tense it made Sam feel tense too, and he was getting sick of it.

 

#

 

That Sam's friend was female made Kias feel a little better. Not that it meant nothing bad would happen, but Kias had been hurt by far more men than he had women. The place he'd been kept had been run by men and had dealt only in boys. They only rarely had female customers and Kias had only once been made to serve one. That hadn't gone at all well. He'd done his best, but in the end he hadn't been able to give her what she'd wanted.

 

They stepped into one of the small boxy rooms that moved and, after the doors shut and opened again, they were outside. They were on the street next to the road and without the walls of the car surrounding them, things were noisy. Sam led him around the corner and then into a building.

 

It was quieter inside the building and there was a lot less going on, so Kias decided he preferred it. There wasn't much to see in the building, just a hallway, a flight of stairs, and another one of those moving boxy things. Sam led Kias into the moving box, the doors shut, and unsurprisingly when they opened again Kias found they were somewhere new. It was weird, but it was a weirdness that Kias was beginning to get used to.

 

They were in a long hallway with widely spaced doors on either side of it. Kias counted the doors as they passed them and got up to seven before Sam stopped in front of one. There was a button on the front of the door, and Sam pressed it.

 

#

 

The first thing Laura did when she answered the door was pull Sam into a hug. She was a good bit shorter than Sam so hugging her required him to bend uncomfortably, but he didn't mind. Her joy at seeing him and her easy affection made him feel so much better.

 

"This is the boy you saved? Kias?" Laura's said, her chin digging into Sam’s shoulder as she watched Kias over it. "He has nice hair. Suits him."

 

Laura released Sam and then moved towards Kias with her arms spread to envelop him. Sam saw Kias flinch back, and Laura must have noticed it too because she stopped and dropped her arms to her sides.

 

"Sorry," Kias said quickly. "Um, what does she want me to do?"

 

"This is my friend, Laura. She was just going to hug you," Sam told him.

 

"Oh," Kias said. He took a step closer to Laura and moved his arms from where they were gently hugging his own chest so that they were held slightly away from his body. His posture was stiff, not welcoming, and when Laura pulled him into her arms she did so slowly and carefully. Over her shoulder, Kias' eyes were filled with barely contained panic.

 

Laura pulled back and scrutinised Kias carefully. "Do his people have some weird thing against hugs? Did we just get engaged or something?"

 

"Nah," Sam said. "He's just a really anxious guy. It's kind of exhausting."

 

Laura didn't look impressed. "Poor you."

 

When Laura let them pass into the apartment, the first thing Sam noticed was Cassie sitting on the sofa with Whiskers sprawled on her back across her lap. While Laura was short, dark, and a little plump, Cassie was tall, thin, and pale. They contrasted and complimented each other, both in appearance and in personality.

 

The robotic cat on Cassie’s lap twisted her head to watch them as Cassie used a small screwdriver to make adjustments to her inner workings through a hole in the skin of one of her legs. Cassie tongued at her lip as she carefully brushed back the long, grey fur that was getting in the way of her work. If she shaved it, it wouldn’t grow back.

 

A quick glance at Kias showed that he'd noticed it what Cassie was doing and was decidedly horrified. Sam had to nudge him twice to get him moving again.

 

"It's not a real cat," Sam explained. "It's like, uh... Well, it's a machine, anyway. It's not alive."

 

Whiskers' fluffy tail twitched and she mewed at them quietly as they drew near. When Sam encouraged Kias in a particular direction he would move without argument, but he was definitely avoiding getting any closer to Cassie and Whiskers than absolutely necessary.

 

"Looks like she bent the joint in her leg," Cassie said without looking up, and Sam was unsure whether she was talking to him, Laura, or to herself. "She's been walking funny for days. I'll probably have to replace them all eventually. Her design was very flawed."

 

Whiskers had been a prototype robotic cat designed and built by Cassie and Laura. Cassie was a master of robotics and artificial intelligence, and Laura designed their outer features to make them look realistic. Even as a prototype, Whiskers was almost imperceptible from the real thing. Their designs were being mass produced now, but Whiskers had been the first and they had grown attached to her. Being the first, however, meant that she suffered from more than her fair share of mechanical problems.

 

"Hello to you too, Cass," Sam said. "I think your robocat surgery is freaking Kias out a little."

 

Cassie glanced at Kias for a second and let out a soft whuff of a laugh before refocusing her attention on her work.

 

"Aw, he's scared?" Laura asked as she came up behind them. She rested her cheek against Sam's shoulder. "I made brownies for dessert, but he can have one now if it'll make him feel better."

 

"Food's about the only thing that does calm him down," Sam told her. She tugged on his arm and he followed her in the direction of the kitchen.

 

Kias was right on Sam's heels until they passed the large, rather elaborate fish tank set up near the door to the kitchen. The fish seemed to fascinate Kias, and he stopped to watch them.

 

"Are they real fish?" Kias asked when he realised Sam had stopped as well.

 

"Yeah, they're real." Of course, Cassie and Laura had only bought them in order to study them so that they could perhaps one day design their own robotic fish, but the ones in the tank were in fact actual living creatures.

 

"They're brightly coloured," Kias said, "and their bodies are unusual shapes. I've never seen fish like these before."

 

"They're tropical fish," Sam explained. "You didn't live near the ocean, and I suppose nobody would bother with fish like these where you're from because they're not good to eat. People here keep them as pets."

 

Laura returned with a chocolate brownie on a napkin and held it out for Kias to take. "Food."

 

'Food' was one of the few words Sam had taught Kias in Global, and Kias looked pleased to understand something for once. Or pleased to have a brownie; it was hard to say.

 

"Um," Kias said, sending Sam a nervous glance. "How do you say thank you?"

 

Sam told Kias the word and he repeated it to Laura. She beamed in response.

 

"Okay," Cassie suddenly spoke up from her position on the couch, “the joint's still a bit wonky, but I've bent it more of less back into position. It won't have the full range of flexibility, but she'll be able to jump again and walk without a limp. As soon as I get the parts in, I'm going to replace all the leg joints."

 

A few moments later, Whiskers scrambled over Cassie's shoulder and onto the back of the sofa. She watched them with big, curious green eyes, and let out an inquisitive meow. When she jumped down onto the floor and started walking towards them, Kias took a nervous step back behind Sam.

 

"She's safe," Sam reassured Kias, bending down to pet Whiskers. "Safer than a real cat, actually, because she won't ever scratch or bite."

 

After several long moments Kias knelt down and reached out a tentative hand to stroke Whiskers' soft fur. She mewed at him happily and butted his hand with her head.

 

Cassie watched them over the back of the couch, a small smile on her face. "Man, our whole world must be pretty freaky to him. How's he coping with understanding it all?"

 

"Uh..." Sam scratched the back of his neck. "Mostly he doesn't ask? I couldn't explain how most things work in a way he'd get anyway. But, yeah. He's a quiet kind of guy."

 

"Jules and Trevor are supposed to come over it a bit to play some games, but I can tell them to come some other night if it's going to stress Kias out."

 

"Nah, he should be fine," Sam said. "He'll have to get used to these kinds of things anyway."

 

Kias, having heard his name, was watching the conversation curiously. He'd finished his brownie and had the napkin clenched in his hand.

 

Sam switched languages to speak to Kias. "A couple more people are going to come over soon. If you get scared, just stick close to me. If you need some time out we'll go to the bedroom, okay?”

 

Though he looked more worried than Sam thought was warranted, Kias simply nodded stiffly and made no complaints. He never complained. Hell, he hardly even spoke. Sam would have liked to have heard his opinions for once.

 

"Come and meet Cassie." Sam offered Kias his hand and helped him stand from where he had been on the floor cautiously petting Whiskers.

 

Cassie and Laura had a single L shaped sofa large enough to fit a dozen people if they sat tightly packed. Cassie was sitting in her favourite spot, in the junction of the L. On the floor in front of the sofa was a thick beige rug on which sat a medium sized glass coffee table, and most of the wall across from it was dedicated to an enormous television screen.

 

Cassie was in the middle of clearing away the tools she'd been using to work on Whiskers' leg when Sam flopped down on the sofa, pulling Kias down next to him.

 

"How was your assignment, Sam?" Cassie asked.

 

Before Sam could answer, Laura clambered over the back of the sofa to join them. "Ooh, yes, I want to hear too!"

 

"Short," Sam told them. "Less than two weeks. I swear we're getting less and less time for these things. I didn't really get much done. Rich people where Kias is from seemed to be generally expected not to do much in the way of exploring their surroundings. It was difficult to do what I needed to do without appearing suspicious."

 

Laura had lain down on the sofa with her head in Cassie's lap and was listening to Sam's story with interest. "And then you met Kias?"

 

"Yeah, when I was leaving. I guess I shouldn't have taken him, but it's hard to look at him now and regret it. It makes it difficult when you start to think of people as individuals."

 

Laura reached an arm over Cassie's lap and patted awkwardly at the bit of Sam's hip she could reach. "When I did it, I couldn't stop thinking of people as individuals. It was so awful seeing little kids and knowing they were going to die soon in such a terrible way. That's why I quit."

 

For a moment Laura looked sad, caught in memories, but then Cassie pulled Laura's black hair out of its tie and carefully combed it with her fingers, and soon Laura was smiling again. She butted Cassie's slim stomach with her head.

 

The door buzzer interrupted their affection.

 

#

 

A sudden buzzing sound made Kias jump, and he couldn't figure out what it was until Laura got up to answer the front door.

 

Kias had been watching Laura and Cassie and had begun to wonder if they had a similar arrangement to the one he and Sam had. Laura had been answering the door and had fetched Kias food while Cassie had busied herself with... machine cat doctoring? Kias wasn't sure, but it had looked less like slave work to him. And then Laura had rested her head in Cassie’s lap submissively and had been petted like Kias had been petting their strange fake cat.

 

Kias wasn't sure he was correct, but it was a reasonable theory. Laura seemed to be happy. Perhaps when Kias settled in he would be happy too.

 

Kias peered over the back of the padded seat at Laura as she opened the door. It seemed hugging was her usual form of greeting, because she did it to the two young men standing outside the door before letting them in.

 

Sam was leaning over the back of the padded seat too, and he smiled broadly and said something to the two young men as they approached where Kias, Sam, and Cassie were sitting.

 

As soon as they walked around the end of the padded seat and could see them fully, it was Kias who had their attention. They were still talking to Sam, who was sitting between them and Kias, and Kias heard Sam say his name to the men.

 

"Kias," Sam said to Kias, addressing him this time. "This is Trevor and that's Jules. They're friends of ours."

 

Trevor was tall and lanky and had olive skin and short brown hair. Jules was pretty for a man in his mid twenties and had short blond hair and tanned skin. His eyes were blue, something which seemed to be uncommon on Sam's world, or at least the part of it Sam lived in.

 

Jules sat down next to Sam and, since there was no more room between Sam and Cassie, Trevor sat down on the end of the padded seat next to Kias. Laura had returned to Cassie and curled herself up against Cassie's side.

 

Everyone was talking and moving around and sometimes Kias got the feeling they were talking about him. He felt surrounded and out of place and he wished he knew what was going on. What if he just copied what Laura was doing and snuggled up next to Sam?

 

Kias shuffled closer to Sam and when he bumped up against Sam's side he was surprised to feel Sam's arm wrap around him, pulling Kias against him. When a few moments later Sam paused in conversation and glanced down at where Kias was nestled against him, he looked somewhat surprised too.

 

"You okay?" he murmured to Kias, as though being overheard was an actual thing that would matter. Kias nodded and Sam returned to his conversation, but Kias remained pressed against Sam's side and Sam's arm remained around him. Kias could almost trick himself into feeling safe.

 

The thing was, Kias had encountered Sam's type before. The first time, he'd even fallen for it. A few months after Kias had been taken captive, one of his clients had been a wealthy socialite who'd expressed sympathy for Kias' struggles. He would bring Kias treats, sympathise with his pains, and treat him gently when he needed it.

 

Most of the time, anyway. He always had excuses when he didn't, like that Kias simply excited him so much that he sometimes had difficulty controlling himself. He never forced Kias into sex, instead making Kias feel so obligated that he'd gone along willingly. At sixteen, Kias had been rather naive. It had taken him almost three months to work out that someone who could easily afford to buy and free him but who didn't was not his friend.

 

The next man who tried to pull that trick had gotten Kias' anger, but by the third Kias had figured things out. It was important to know when someone was trying to manipulate him, yes, but that didn't mean he should push someone who was offering him kind treatment away, regardless of their motives. The best approach was to pretend to believe them and enjoy whatever they were offering, even if it was simply a respite from cruelty.

 

At that moment, cuddled against Sam's side, Kias wasn't entirely playing a role. He was attracted to Sam and, frankly, he was having a hard time not enjoying the feeling of Sam's body close to his own. It wasn't even really sexual, for the most part. Physical contact with someone familiar, someone who'd never really hurt him, just felt nice.

 

There was a huge sheet of black glass covering most of the wall across from them, and Kias' theory was that it was a larger version of the thing in their room that showed moving pictures. He was proven correct when all of a sudden it came to life, the unexpected sound and pictures startling Kias. Sam's hand squeezed the part of Kias' arm it was resting on in reassurance.

 

Trevor and Jules each had some kind of strange object that fitted comfortably into two hands. They held them up and pressed things on them while watching the pictures move. After a while Kias determined that the things they were doing were changing the pictures, he just wasn't sure how or why.

 

The pictures Kias could identify as anything at all were cars. After a while the image on the screen changed to two cars on a road with a bar down the centre of the screen dividing them. Trevor leant forward, his tongue swiping over his upper lip in intense concentration, and then there was a whistling sound and the cars on the screen began to move.

 

Everyone on the couch was smiling and what sounded like taunts were being thrown back and forth between Jules and Trevor, so Kias decided it was probably some kind of game. After another couple of minutes of carefully watching both them and the screen, Kias concluded that they were racing. They seemed to be putting a lot of effort into driving the cars on the screen, effort that definitely wasn't going into driving them smoothly, so he could only conclude that speed was the goal.

 

Seeing the cars swerve all over the road and casually crash into parts of the scenery was really, really not making Kias want to get back into Sam's car. Sam certainly hadn't been driving recklessly like Trevor and Jules were in the game, but the possibility of it was terrifying.

 

Jules threw his hands up and let out a victorious shout and a few moments later there were words on the screen Kias couldn't read, so Kias concluded he had won.

 

#

 

Trevor groaned at his loss, then tried to hand his controller over to Sam.

 

Sam shook his head and waved the controller away. He couldn’t play without letting go of Kias, and Kias seemed to be finding his touch reassuring. "Not right now."

 

Trevor handed it to Cassie instead, and she took it happily.

 

Laura pushed up from where her head had been resting in Cassie's lap and pulled Cassie's head down in the same movement, bringing their lips together. "Kiss for luck."

 

"I want a lucky kiss too," Jules said. In an instant his hand was on the back of Sam's neck, and a second later their lips made contact. Before Sam had a chance to respond Jules was already pulling away.

 

Normally Sam wouldn't have minded at all; it was far from the first time Jules had kissed him, and it had been a lot more chaste than on other occasions. This was a bit different, though.

 

"Don't," Sam said, and then glanced in Kias' direction. "He—"

 

Sam hadn't really known what he'd been about it say, but Jules interrupted him. "Is he jealous?" Jules asked as he slid off of the sofa.

 

Before Sam had a chance to explain that no, that wasn't the issue at all, Jules was already crouching on the ground in front of Kias. Sam opened his mouth to asked what Jules was doing, but before he could get anything out Jules lunged forward, grabbed Kias by the back of the neck, and pressed their lips together.

 


	7. Chapter 7

"There, that—" Jules began, then broke off with a startled oof when Sam yanked him away by the back of his shirt.

 

"What the hell are you doing?" Sam demanded.

 

Jules stared up at Sam from where he sat on the floor for a couple of surprised seconds before speaking. "Not cool?"

 

"You don't know anything about his culture or what he's been through or how he feels about being kissed by other guys. No, it's not cool." To be fair, Sam didn't know a hell of a lot about most of those things either, but he also hadn't kissed Kias.

 

Jules winced. "Sorry, I was just messing around. I thought, you know, since he seems to be cool with you and all..."

 

"He didn't even know kissing guys was something I did until you kissed me." Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Kias was watching the conversation carefully, his eyebrows drawn together with apprehension. That was a pretty normal expression for him, actually, but right then he looked a bit more worried than he did most of the time.

 

"Maybe you should go talk to him in our room," Cassie suggested. "Make sure he's all right."

 

Sam nodded, glad to have someone guiding him because he was no less lost than usual. He stood and held his hand out for Kias, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled up without the slightest sign of trepidation. Mostly he just looked confused. That was definitely normal for him.

 

#

 

Kias didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he was fairly sure he'd just seen Sam being possessive of him. When Jules had kissed Sam, Sam had barely responded, but when Jules had then kissed Kias, Sam had yanked Jules away and then snapped at him.

 

Sam led Kias down a short hallway and then opened a door off of it, switching on the light before leading Kias inside. The few pieces of furniture in the room were all things that were recognisable to Kias, and the large bed made it clear that the room was a bedroom.

 

Sam still looked riled up, which Kias thought was a bit of an overreaction. Then again, what did Kias know? Sam's culture clearly wasn't his own. Perhaps he'd just witnessed some kind of huge social transgression.

 

Similarly, he couldn't be sure why Sam had brought him into the bedroom. There were a few potential reasons bobbing around in his mind, the most obvious that Sam's jealousy had been stirred and he now intended to remind Kias who he belonged to, but Kias was beginning to realise the assumptions he made concerning Sam often proved to be false. When Sam gave him no direction, he sat down on the bed.

 

Sam remained standing and ran a hand through his hair, agitated. "I didn't expect him to do that. I mean, I'm also not surprised he did. He's just affectionate, you know? He didn't realise..."

 

Kias wasn't sure he understood the problem. Sam obviously wasn't too angry at his friend for what he'd done. "Isn't it okay if it was just a mistake?"

 

That bordered on questioning Sam's authority, but Sam didn't look angry. "Well. I suppose. You're okay?"

 

Hearing Sam express concern for his welfare shouldn't have felt as good as it did. Or maybe it was right that it should. After all, who else would keep him safe? Perhaps what truly troubled Kias was that, for a moment, he had considered saying no. Just to see what Sam would do if he said he wasn't okay. After all, most of the time since he'd come to Sam's world he hadn't been sure he was.

 

He was too cowardly to actually do it in the end, though, and averted his eyes and nodded instead.

 

"Do you want to stay in here for a while?" Sam asked.

 

Kias frowned and thought that over. And do what? was the obvious question, but asking would feel like inviting trouble. Would it be better to take his chances in the bedroom or out with Sam's friends?

 

Well, things so far with Sam's friends had been chaotic and stressful, and things inside the bedroom had been calm and controlled. If Sam had any activities in mind, he wasn't likely to be violent.

 

"Okay," Kias murmured.

 

"Right. Okay." For an awkward moment Sam just stood and stared at Kias. "All right, I'll go get you another brownie."

 

Kias didn't understand Sam, but he did understand food. Clearly the bedroom had been the right choice.

 

#

 

"He okay?" Jules asked when Sam returned to the living room.

 

Sam shrugged helplessly. "He seems to be? I don't know, the guy's an enigma. He hardly talks and I always get the feeling he's thinking a lot of things he's not saying."

 

"Aw, he's just scared, Sam," Laura said. "Wouldn't you be scared?"

 

"If I was all on my own on an alien world, surrounded by strangers?" Sam asked. "No, that's what I do for a living."

 

"That's not even remotely the same," Laura said. "You always know what's going on, you can speak to most of the people you meet, and after a few days or weeks or months you get to go back home."

 

Yeah, okay, so it was like when he'd lost his world as a kid only much worse. He knew that, but it was easy to forget it. Or perhaps convenient. With Kias being so quiet, often Sam preferred to imagine he was mostly just fine.

 

"I promised I'd get him another brownie," Sam said instead of offering a proper response.

 

Laura sighed in irritation and hefted herself out of Cassie's lap. "I hope he's still going to want dinner after all these brownies. He's scrawnier than Cassie, he can't eat that much."

 

"He can and he does," Sam told her as he followed her to the kitchen. "He eats like he might not get another meal for a week. He's probably going to become obese in no time."

 

Laura opened the container with the brownies in it and put one on a napkin before handing it to Sam. "There. Go feed the boy up."

 

Sam took the brownie, then hesitated. "It's actually really, really awkward in there. There's nothing to do and we just kind of look at each other."

 

"You could talk," Laura suggested.

 

"He doesn't talk!” Sam said, flinging crumbs across the kitchen as he gestured wildly with the brownie. “He just listens and nods and looks anywhere between vaguely concerned and completely terrified and if he does talk it's mostly to say really damn agreeable things. I don't know how to interact with him!"

 

Laura shook her head sadly. "I swear, you are the worst person for this to happen to. Interacting with people from other worlds is what you were trained for, Sam!"

 

"That's different," Sam insisted. "For one thing, when I do that I mostly lie. Interacting with people on their own worlds isn't the same, and nobody's relying on me there. I've never dated or had a roommate, I don't have any siblings. I lost my parents when I was young. I have friends, yeah, but I'm starting to realise I know shit all about actually connecting with people. I don't know how to be what he needs."

 

Laura must have seen that Sam had gone beyond grumpy and into genuinely upset, because her expression softened. "Take him the brownie. Bring Whiskers. If he just wants to lay down and pet robo-kitty for a couple of hours, let him. If he wants to talk, talk. If he wants to rejoin the group, bring him out."

 

"You make it sound so easy and it's not," Sam said, a frown firmly etched on his face, but he turned and headed back out into the living room, throwing a, "Thanks," back at Laura over his shoulder.

 

Eyes followed Sam as he passed through the living room, but he didn't stop to chat and they didn't interrupt his passage. He called Whiskers over and told her to follow him, and with a mew she complied. That was one aspect in which robo-kitties were far superior to regular cats.

 

Kias was sitting on the bed exactly where Sam had left him, and his eyes instantly gravitated to the brownie Sam was holding. When Whiskers padded in on Sam's heels Kias' gaze momentarily slipped to her, but they quickly returned to the brownie.

 

Sam shut the door behind himself and Whiskers and then handed the brownie over to Kias. For a moment Sam shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, then decided to sit down next to Kias before they ended up staring uncomfortably at one another. Staring at the carpet was far less awkward.

 

Despite his obvious enthusiasm, Kias ate slowly and carefully, somehow managing not to drop a single crumb. And then Sam realised he was staring at Kias while he ate and averted his gaze.

 

Whiskers wound around their ankles and Sam leant down to pet her, glad for the distraction. "You know, it's funny. They could have made these things look like anything, but they decided on plain old regular cats indistinguishable from real cats. I mean, there's no cat shortage going on. So why cats?"

 

Kias shrugged his shoulders and Sam glanced over to see him lick his lips. "They can be repaired, can't they? Maybe people like cats, just not that they die."

 

Sam let out a pleased chuckle of surprise. "I was just kind of babbling, but that's actually insightful. I think you're right. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't still want my own squirrel monkey."

 

Kias licked his fingers clean and scrunched up the paper towel the brownie had been on. "What's a squirrel monkey?"

 

"It's, uh..." Sam said. "Well, if you have a word for 'monkey' I sure don't know it. They're furry animals that climb around in trees. They're cute and smart and have a certain amount of dexterity with their hands like people do. There used to be a lot of them, but now they're... Uh, I guess you probably don't have a word for 'extinct', either. They're all dead because people destroyed the places they lived in. Keeping a real one as a pet would generally have been a bad idea anyway, but a fake one designed to behave itself would be much more interesting than a cat."

 

While Sam had been talking Kias had been inching closer until, by the time Sam was done speaking, Kias was leaning up against his side. For a moment Sam considered pulling away, but that might have given Kias the wrong idea. Sam had no objections to physical contact with Kias, he just didn't want to make things weird between them if he reacted in the wrong way.

 

"Let's lay down," Sam said when Kias leant against him more heavily, and then scooted up the bed so that he could lay down with his head on the pillow. Kias followed and, without hesitation, snuggled in close next to Sam.

 

And it felt so good. It wasn’t particularly erotic; it simply felt nice to have someone curled up warm against his body. Not that there was a complete lack of sexual feelings, and that disturbed Sam. He wasn't sitting there with a boner or anything, but there was that certain kind of tension in him he was sure wouldn’t have been there if Kias had been a girl.

 

Sam started stroking up and down Kias' back almost on reflex. It simply felt like the right thing to do with Kias curled against him. He caught himself and was about to stop when he realised Kias had relaxed further and pressed his forehead against Sam's shoulder. Sam gave Kias' back another experimental stroke, and Kias nuzzled his shoulder in response. So he liked that.

 

Sam continued petting Kias, his hand stroking over the all too angular points of his shoulder blades, as Kias slowly relaxed and melted in against him.

 

A few minutes later Kias' body relaxed completely, and then shortly after his breathing evened out into sleep. Sam smiled at Kias’ sleeping form. Finally, finally it seemed like he'd done something right. It felt good to have Kias trusting him, to have Kias finding comfort in his company. He always seemed to be a little suspicious of Sam, maybe even fearful. Perhaps things would be okay once they got to know each other a bit more.

 

Of course, after about ten minutes sleepy cuddle time started to get really boring. Sam wasn't very good at sitting idle for extended periods, and there wasn't even anything to look at in the bedroom. For such interesting people, Laura and Cassie sure didn't do much in the way of home decorating.

 

But Sam stayed still and let Kias sleep anyway. Sam had to admit he was often quite selfish, but Kias deserved better than that and it was time Sam started acting like it. He let out a sigh. Whiskers had settled herself on the end of the bed, so Sam busied himself with stroking her with his toes.

 

When, a short time later, Sam's fingers started to get tingly from Kias lying on his arm, Sam did his best to carefully shift his arm from under Kias just enough to get the blood flowing through it again. Sam had hoped not to wake Kias, but when Kias suddenly stiffened, he knew he had.

 

"Sorr—" Sam started to say, but was cut off by the sharp pain of Kias’ elbow jabbing into his stomach. Suddenly Kias was a mess of kicking, flailing limbs, until he rolled away from Sam and promptly fell off the side of the bed.

 

Cautiously, Sam crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down at where Kias lay stunned on the floor. When his eyes met Sam's, awareness returned, but the panic in them didn't fade.

 

Kias quickly shuffled backwards until his back hit the wall before curling in on himself. "I'm sorry," he murmured into his knees. The still tender area on Kias’ stomach must have gotten knocked at some point because he clutched it and winced, but he seemed far more concerned about what Sam's reaction would be than his own pain. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

 

Sam climbed off the bed, careful to keep his movements slow, and went to kneel next to Kias. It was Sam's first instinct to pull the scared, upset boy into an embrace, and he tried to, but when Kias made a sound of distress and flinched away Sam withdrew. The rejection stung.

 

"I'm sorry," Kias murmured again. “I just, I didn’t—”

 

"Shh," Sam said, and resisted the urge to reach out to Kias again. "It's all right, no harm done. Are you okay?"

 

"Yes," Kias whispered, an obvious lie, and suddenly Sam wondered if he'd been lying when Sam had asked him the same thing earlier.

 

Sam decided not to press the issue. "Did you have a bad dream?"

 

"No, I just, I just... I forgot. Where I was, and who you were. And you were holding onto me and I just panicked." Kias was near sobbing, and when a tear ran down his cheek he scrubbing at it angrily and scowled as if cross at himself for the show of vulnerability. It just made Sam want to hug him more.

 

Clearly, this all had something to do with what had happened to Kias before he'd come to Sam's world. "Maybe I shouldn't touch you when you're sleeping then?"

 

Kias forced himself to sit up straighter, to stop cowering, and when he nodded it was with more confidence. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, and I didn't know that would happen... I can't guarantee it won’t happen again if you touch me while I’m sleeping. If I could control it I'd promise you it wouldn't, but..."

 

Sam nodded and sat back, giving Kias more room to compose himself. "I get it. You can't help your trauma, especially when you don't have anyone but me to talk to about it."

 

Kias studied Sam’s face carefully, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again a couple of times before finally deciding on what he wanted to say. Even then, there was an edge of uncertainty to it. "Well, thank you for not getting angry about it. You have every right to."

 

Sam was about to tell him that no, he did not have the right to get angry with Kias about something he had no control over, but before Sam could speak there was a knock on the door and a second later it opened, revealing Laura.

 

Her eyebrows lifted at the sight of Sam and Kias’ huddled together against the wall next to the bed. "You guys okay?"

 

Sam looked at Kias, who had averted his gaze to the floor, and then gave a helpless shrug. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. What's up?"

 

"Dinner," Laura said, though she was still eyeing Kias uncertainly. "I'll bring you some."

 

Sam sighed. He'd been looking forward to heading back out into the living room and spending some more time with his friends, but she was right. Kias had to come first, and he was not up to company just then.

 

"Yeah," Sam said. "Sounds good."

 

When she left, Sam turned to Kias to explain. "Dinner. She's bringing us some."

 

Kias' countenance brightened a little, but then he frowned. "Don't you want to go back out with your friends?"

 

Sam shook his head. "This is what you need right now, and I figure I should be something other than a massive bag of dicks for once."

 

The expressions Kias' face went through were hilarious, though it took Sam a moment to realise what he'd done. "Okay, I guess directly translating certain terms doesn't always work so well. I mean I should be nicer. Less selfish."

 

"Bag of dicks," Kias repeated. "I think I'm missing out on a lot about your culture by not understanding your language."

 

Kias was smiling just a little, though he did his best to hide it. Sam grinned broadly. "Well, we're definitely capable of being inventive with our insults."

 

They were still sitting there, a few minutes later, when Laura brought them their food.

 

She handed the plates of food over to Sam. "Are you sure you two are all right?"

 

"Thank you," Kias told Laura, and though his accent was thick he managed to pronounce the words correctly.

 

Laura beamed. "You're welcome."

 

"She says you're welcome," Sam translated as he settled himself in to eat.

 

"How do I say sorry?" Kias asked. "For being such a bother. Or would it be better to say it to Cassie?"

 

Kias was so busy fretting that he, for once, hadn't instantly started inhaling his food. Sam bopped him on the back of the head. "Don't worry about it, nothing that happened was your fault. Eat your food."

 

Kias hesitated for a moment, like he wasn't quite sure that should be the end of the conversation, but then he obeyed as he usually did when Sam gave him clear instruction. Dealing with Kias was difficult in so many ways, and that he was at least compliant was a blessing.

 

"Everything's fine," Sam insisted when Laura continued hovering. "Or as fine as it's getting tonight, anyway."

 

"I'll leave you two to eat," Laura said with a smile. She waved to Kias before she left and, after a moment of confused hesitation, Kias mimicked the gesture. Laura giggled in glee as she left the room.

 

"Did I do that wrong?" Kias asked.

 

Sam chuckled and shook his head. "No, she was just really pleased to see you learning to communicate, I guess. Waving is a way to say hello and goodbye without words."

 

"Oh," Kias said, and put his mind back to eating his dinner. It was a proper roast, and while Kias ate pretty much anything as if it were the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted, this was a better meal than any Sam had fed him. With his consistently high level of enthusiasm regarding food, though, it was hard to tell if Kias thought so.

 

By the time they'd finished and Sam had returned from taking their plates back to the kitchen, Kias looked exhausted. He wasn't being dramatic about it, but Sam was starting to be able to read him better and he could see it around Kias' eyes and in the slight sag of his body.

 

"I think it's time to go home, hm?" Sam said, and Kias just nodded in response.

 

Sam said goodbye to his friends before he left and made sure to let Jules know he was forgiven. It remained unspoken between them, however, that if Jules crossed any boundaries with Kias again the trespass mightn't be so easily excused. The only reason Sam hadn’t made a bigger deal of it this time was that it honestly didn't seem to have alarmed Kias too much. No more than most things did.

 

Kias seemed to have gotten used to travelling in elevators, but when they exited onto the street for the short walk to the parking garage Kias was on high alert despite his fatigue. It must have been quite scary for someone who'd known nothing but horses and carts his whole life to suddenly discover cars, and in such quantity. Travelling in one had probably been even more frightening. But what could Sam do? This was the world Kias was in now, and he'd have to get used to it.

 

For the first half of the car ride home Kias sat frozen rigid in his seat, staring anxiously out of the window, but gradually fatigue won out and he began to relax. By the time they reached the compound Kias still didn't look like he was ready to take a nap in the car, but he'd stopped looking like he expected them to crash at any moment. If Sam had thought it would do any good, he would have explained to Kias that cars were so automated these days that crashes were practically unheard of. He was tired too, though, and he was fairly sure Kias wouldn't have understood anyway.

 

"I'm sorry," Sam said as they got into the elevator to return to their room. "If tonight was awful for you, I'm sorry."

 

It didn't make Sam feel any better when Kias scrutinised him suspiciously, but in the end Kias just nodded. "The food was good."

 

Sam scoffed. "You think all food's good. You're right that it was, though. Good thing your standards are generally pretty low, though, because I am a truly shit cook."

 

Kias expression twitched slightly, and Sam realised what he'd said probably didn't hold quite the same meaning when translated into Kias' language. "I'm a terrible cook, I mean."

 

“Oh,” Kias said, a yawn interrupting him in the middle of the word. Whereas earlier he’d sounded shy and nervous when responding monosyllabically, now he just sounded tired.

 

The yawns kept up all the way back to their room, and as soon as they entered Kias walked over to his bed and flopped down onto it. He let out a deep sigh and relaxed against the soft mattress.

 

"Sleep," Sam said. "You've had a long day."

 

A few minutes later, Kias, ever obedient, did just that.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Sam felt restless from the moment he woke up the next morning, and it quickly became clear that he wouldn't be able to simply laze around their room with Kias all day without getting grumpy. He needed to get some proper exercise.

 

The only real issue was what he would do with Kias while he got it. Taking Kias with him was an option, but Sam couldn't really imagine Kias being anything but a frustrating and distracting hindrance. Sam wanted to lose himself in physical exertion and, for just a few hours, not have to worry about Kias.

 

Sam glanced over to Kias who was sitting on his bed and busying himself with braiding his hair, the reddish golden strands sliding smoothing through his fingers as he twined them together. Kias’ slender hands had a grace and dexterity to them that Sam’s lacked.

 

"I have some things I need to do today,” Sam said. “Would you mind if I left you with a friend of mine for a while?"

 

"That's fine," Kias said, but Sam didn’t fail to notice that his normally confident hands had stumbled and ruined the braid he was working on at the mention of being sent to stay with someone else, nor the tension in his voice.

 

Sam probably should have paid attention to what Kias was communicating to him nonverbally and either figured out what the issue was and resolved it or thought of another option. He didn't. Despite all his good intentions, Sam hadn't suddenly stopped being selfish and it was much easier to simply take Kias at his word. It wasn't like anything terrible would happen to him, and perhaps Kias would learn that he really was safe by spending a little time away from Sam and seeing that things weren't really as threatening as he thought.

 

Sam sent a message to a friend of his, Jay, who lived in the compound and had the same job as Sam did. He was presently on leave and he was a nice, easy going guy. Hopefully he'd be able to handle Kias for a few hours without incident.

 

Jay sent a message back saying he didn't mind watching Kias at all, and told Sam to bring him round whenever he was ready. As Jay’s job involved interacting with people from other worlds, just as Sam's did, he was interested to meet someone who had come from one of those worlds to theirs.

 

Kias was still on edge as they left their room, but Sam was determined not to let it bother him. Jay would do a great job, and perhaps this would be a baby step towards some kind of independence for Kias. He'd have to learn to manage on his own at least for short periods eventually.

 

Sam pressed the buzzer on Jay's door, and a moment later the door slid open.

 

"Hey, man," Jay said to Sam, smiling openly. His hair was black and long enough that he was forever shoving it out of his eyes, and his olive skin was smooth. He was handsome and, unfortunately, completely straight. Jay waggled his fingers at Kias, and Kias waved back uncertainly in response.

 

Jay's grin widened. "You taught him that?"

 

Sam shook his head. "Laura did."

 

"Well, little by little, you know? It's great he's learning to communicate. I bet he has loads of great things to say."

 

When Jay moved aside Sam entered, leading Kias with him. "He doesn't really say much at all, honestly. His speciality is looking anxious."

 

"Kinda like right now, huh?" Jay asked. He was watching Kias, who was in turn looking to Sam for instruction.

 

Sam switched languages to speak to Kias. "This is Jay, he's a really friendly guy. The bathroom’s through that door, and I'll be back before lunch so you don't have to worry about food. Okay?"

 

Kias nodded, though he looked no less tense.

 

Sam patted Kias on the back and addressed Jay again. "I'll be at the gym so I might not have my communicator on, but I doubt you'll need me. If he gets upset for some reason, just give him some space for a while. I'll be back by twelve."

 

Jay smiled again and nodded. "Yeah, no worries, we'll be fine. I'll show him my photo collection. Finally, someone who can't say no."

 

Sam shook his head, smiling, but made no comment. ‘No’ was a word he'd have to teach Kias some time.

 

As he was saying goodbye to Kias, strangely, he felt like he ought to kiss Kias on the forehead like a mother might on her child's first day of school. Instead, he patted Kias on the back. "You'll be fine."

 

When Sam glanced back at Kias just before he left the room, Kias still didn't looked like he believed him. Oh well. He'd learn.

 

#

 

The sense of unease gripping Kias' gut increased once Sam left, and Kias turned to watch his minder uncertainly. This guy, Jay, certainly seemed friendly enough, and Sam had been fairly clear about the role he intended Jay to play. The show of possessiveness from the previous night had made Kias fairly confident that Sam was not planning to let anyone else touch him.

 

Jay had picked up one of those rectangular things Sam said were called tablets and was gesturing for Kias to follow him further into the room, so Kias did. Jay's room was smaller than the one Kias shared with Sam, but it had carpet and looked altogether more homely. Kias eyed the bed with trepidation, but it was the sofa Jay led him to.

 

Jay sat down on the sofa and patted the spot next to him, so Kias sat too. Not close enough, apparently, because Jay shuffled over until their thighs nearly touched. He held the tablet between them, and then pressed something that made it light up and images appear on the screen.

 

He tapped things on the screen faster than Kias could follow until a picture of a house showed up. It looked much more like the houses in Kias' city had than any structure he'd seen on Sam's world, even though the architecture was a little different. It was simple, worn, and kind of shabby, completely different from any of the buildings on Sam’s world.

 

Jay said something and then tapped the screen, switching to the next picture. It looked like a marketplace, and again nothing like anything on Sam's world. As Jay progressed through the pictures, Kias became more and more convinced that these were images of another world. Kias had no idea how images like these were even recorded, but Sam's people managed it somehow and there wasn't much point in questioning it.

 

After handing the tablet to Kias, Jay stood from the sofa and went over to the kitchen area of his room. Kias hesitated for a moment, and then cautiously tapped the screen of the tablet with his finger. The image changed. He glanced back at Jay and shrunk in on himself guiltily when he saw Jay watching him, but then Jay grinned so Kias figured he was allowed to switch between the pictures on his own.

 

Kias switched between a couple more, one of a library and one of several horses, but when he tapped again the screen suddenly went grey and there were words. Kias stared at the screen in horror. What had he just done? Panicking, Kias began tapping things randomly in hopes of fixing whatever he'd done. The screen changed again, but to the plain green background with little images on it that had come up before Jay had brought up the pictures. Was that better? Or worse? Kias was so busy panicking that he didn't notice Jay returning until Jay was looming over him.

 

Kias cringed back against the sofa and stared up at Jay timidly, but Jay just smiled, said something, and then tapped the screen of the tablet. The pictures came back.

 

Kias sighed in relief and Jay handed him one of the bottles he was holding before sitting back down next to Kias.

 

" _Drink_ ," Jay said when Kias just stared at the bottle, pronouncing the word slowly and carefully. Kias made a guess at what Jay was saying and took a sip.

 

It tasted... odd. Fruity and sweet, but with a strange edge to it. Not bad, though. It had bubbles in it that made his tongue tingle like some of the other drinks Sam had given him, so Kias guessed it was something similar. Jay took a deep swallow from his own drink, and Kias mimicked the action. It was actually quite nice once he got used to the unusual flavour.

 

The longer Kias was with Jay, the more he started to relax. Really, Jay seemed like a fairly nice guy. He smiled more than Sam did and was more patient. He also didn't own Kias, which was a trait Kias preferred in those he associated with. Even so, being near him didn't give Kias the same feeling of safety and protection he got when he was with Sam. Perhaps the safety Sam provided was an illusion, but Kias was coming to believe that Sam was on his side.

 

He didn't realise he'd been leaning against Jay until Jay stood and Kias almost fell sideways onto the sofa. This time when Jay left, Kias continued tapping through the pictures without concern. If he did something wrong it could clearly be undone, so why worry? When Jay handed Kias a second bottle, he accepted it happily.

 

It wasn't long after starting the second bottle that Kias began to suspect it was alcohol. He'd never had alcohol before and he'd never smelled any with such a fruity fragrance, but he was feeling woozy and relaxed and rather a bit more friendly than was appropriate. He considered setting the bottle aside immediately, but decided not to. It felt good not to worry for just a little while.

 

When Kias was halfway through the second bottle Jay tried to gently take it from him, but Kias hugged it against his chest and Jay didn't try again. When the door buzzed a while later, Kias was entertaining himself by tonguing at the opening of his mostly empty bottle.

 

#

 

Jay looked kind of anxious when he answered the door, and Sam's stomach immediately sunk. Jay was always chill.

 

"What happened?" Sam asked.

 

"Well... nothing _happened_ ," Jay said. "But... don't get mad, he's just fine. I just kind of..."

 

"What did you do?"

 

"He's drunk," Jay blurted. "I gave him a couple of drinks to relax him, and I guess I forgot to take into account that he's kind of a scrawny little thing. He's fine though! He's a nice drunk."

 

Sam sighed and shouldered past Jay into the room. "It's not even lunchtime and you got him plastered?"

 

Kias was sitting on the sofa fellating his bottle of sugary alcohol. Rather than stop, he waved at Sam in greeting. He did, at least, seem perfectly happy, not to mention far more relaxed than usual. Perhaps keeping him constantly boozed up was the solution to all their problems.

 

Sam glanced back over at Jay. "I'm not mad, but just so you know this isn't generally how you babysit."

 

"He's an adult," Jay protested, and then made a face. "He is an adult, right? He's kind of skinny, it's hard to tell."

 

"Eighteen," Sam confirmed, and then turned to address Kias. "Come on, you drunk. Time to go home."

 

Kias tipped the bottle back and drained the rest of the liquid before standing up. He stumbled a little at first, but once he gained his footing he didn't look like he'd need any help with staying on his feet. Kias handed his empty bottle to Jay and gave him a smile and a wave before Sam led him from the room.

 

"You do realise that was alcohol, right?" Sam asked as they walked down the hall. Kias was walking so close that their shoulders kept bumping together.

 

Kias laughed. "Not at first, but by now? Yes."

 

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked him to watch you for me."

 

"Are you angry?" Kias asked, but he seemed only mildly concerned.

 

"Nah, it's fine," Sam said. "Alcohol's not a great thing to rely on, but you're enjoying its effects."

 

"I've never been drunk before," Kias said thoughtfully, then started running his tongue along his lips as though the texture fascinated him.

 

Ah shit, it looked like Kias had some kind of oral fixation when he was drunk. Sam averted his eyes. Kias was attractive, something that was especially clear when he relaxed and stopped looking like a startled bunny, but actually thinking of Kias like that made Sam feel like the worst kind of creep.

 

"We should get you some food," Sam said as soon as they reached their room. "It'll help sober you up."

 

"Mm, food, yes," Kias said, smiling, and Sam wished like hell he looked that open and happy when he wasn't drunk. Or maybe not. This new side of Kias was stirring up a jittery feeling in Sam’s stomach that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

 

When Sam opened the fridge and began looking through it, Kias came and leant in close against his side. It was really, really distracting, and only got worse when Kias bit down lightly on his shoulder. The shirt Sam had worn to exercise in was sleeveless, so he could feel Kias' bare teeth drag lightly over his exposed skin. It sent shivers through his body.

 

"What are you doing?" Sam asked. He wondered if it would be best to push Kias away, or if that kind of rejection would have a negative impact on their still developing relationship.

 

"No biting?" Kias asked innocently.

 

Sam turned back to the fridge, and took out the bowl of leftover spaghetti. "I can't imagine I taste very good."

 

"Salty," Kias said.

 

"That would be the sweat," Sam said as he began scooping spaghetti from the big bowl into two smaller bowls.

 

"Hmm," Kias said, and then gave Sam's shoulder a lick. Sam had to very firmly remind himself that Kias was a poor, traumatised, drunk teenage boy who would most likely ultimately be very upset if Sam so much as laid a finger on him in any sexual way. It took every bit of his self control to remain focussed on reheating their food. It was a very good thing Sam wasn't drunk as well. He'd have to make sure never to be drunk at the same time as Kias if this was the way Kias was going to behave.

 

Normally they ate on their beds, but once the food was reheated Sam pulled out the tiny table tucked away in the corner of the room for them to eat at. He doubted Kias would have been able to eat his food without making a mess.

 

Kias played with his food as he ate, sucking distractedly at the individual strands of spaghetti. Sam applied his attention determinedly to his own food and for once was finished eating before Kias. He put his bowl in the sink and went to lay down on his own bed while Kias finished his food.

 

A few minutes later when Sam was reading through his messages on his tablet, Kias clambered onto the bed next to him.

 

"Hello," Sam said without looking up.

 

Kias was, apparently, not in the mood to have anything but Sam's full attention, because he crawled up to Sam and sprawled himself half across Sam's chest. He reminded Sam of a cat, and his hand automatically reached up to pet Kias' head accordingly.

 

Kias sighed and leant into Sam's touch. "I'm bored."

 

"You're drunk," Sam countered.

 

Kias crawled further up Sam's body, elbowing the tablet out of the way in the process. "Both."

 

Sam was finding it really, really hard to pretend to be unaffected by Kias' behaviour. What did Kias even want from him? Well, obviously he was drunk and didn't know what he wanted, but what did Kias _think_ he wanted? Sam could certainly think of a few things he wanted from Kias at that moment. It wasn't fair that he should have Kias' warm body pressed against his own, squirming as Kias repositioned himself, and be unable to do anything about it.

 

And then Kias' teeth clamped down lightly on Sam's ear and Sam very quickly pushed him away. Sam really, really shouldn't have let things go that far. Had he really not pushed Kias away sooner because he hadn't wanted Kias to feel rejected, or had he just been enjoying Kias' proximity? Sam wasn't sure, and that made him even more certain he needed to put space between himself and Kias until they were both ready to behave themselves.

 

"I need to go take a shower," Sam mumbled, then retreated to the bathroom. It wasn’t a complete lie; Sam was still sweaty from his workout, and a shower certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

Sam considered taking a cold shower, but he wasn't sure that would dampen his desire any longer than he was in it. He set it to warm, stripped off his clothes, and stepped under the spray.

 

He put a noble effort into not thinking about Kias' mouth on that bottle, Kias' teeth on his shoulder and ear, but his mind kept wandering back and eventually he surrendered to it. He finished silently, then slid down the wall and sat under the shower's spray.

 

Thinking about Kias in that way made him feel guilty, but he couldn't help it. No matter how many times he reminded himself of everything Kias had been through, he couldn't go back to thinking of Kias as some poor abused kid worthy only of pity. He promised himself, though, that he would never act on his desires. He'd never even let Kias know he had them if he could help it.

 

Eventually Sam's skin turned pruny, and he decided he'd spent enough time washing away his shame. Hopefully Kias was a bit more sober and hadn't wreaked havoc in their room in the meantime. Sam couldn't quite imagine Kias wreaking havoc, but then there were a lot of things he'd been imagining Kias doing that he hadn't previously.

 

When Sam left the bathroom he was relieved to find Kias asleep on Sam's bed. Careful not to wake him, Sam quietly retrieved his tablet from where it lay on the bed next to Kias, then paused to examine the source of his current problems.

 

Kias lay sprawled half on his back, half on his side. He'd released his strawberry blond hair from its braid and it lay around his head in loose waves. His lips were pinker than usual, probably from incessant chewing brought on by his alcohol induced oral fixation. The sudden desire to kiss them rose up in Sam, but he slunk over to Kias’ bed with his tablet in hand instead. He was going to focus on his messages and hope like hell Kias stayed asleep until he sobered up. Sam wasn't sure how much more temptation he could take.

 

#

 

When Kias woke up, he felt terrible. Why he felt terrible slowly came back, along with memories of all the things he'd done under the influence of the alcohol. Most notably, the things he'd done to Sam.

 

And Sam had more or less just ignored him or pushed him away. Kias really, really ought to have been pleased by that, but instead he mostly felt offended. He was fairly sure he hadn't been a slobbering, gross drunk, so why had Sam been so completely disinterested? But then, perhaps he didn't want Kias to show initiative. Perhaps he liked the quiet, subservient boy Kias was most of the time.

 

But Sam didn't really seem to. Oh, he certainly _tolerated_ Kias, and without complaint for the most part, but there wasn't a single moment that Kias could think of when he had been anything but a burden on Sam. Yet Sam still kept him. It would have made sense to simply ask, because surely there was a rational reason and Sam knew it, but what if there wasn't? What if, upon Kias asking, Sam realised that Kias had been nothing but a pain? Sam wasn't perfect, but he was a far better owner than Kias could have expected.

 

Sam was talking, but in his own language. Kias rolled over and squinted his eyes open and saw Sam sitting on the other bed talking into a black, rectangular object Sam said was used for communication. Though Kias couldn't understand the words, he found the quiet rhythm of Sam's voice soothing. He let his eyes fall shut again.

 

Sam stopped talking, and a moment later he spoke in Kias' language. "You're awake."

 

Kias clutched his throbbing head. "Mmn."

 

Sam chuckled. "I'll get you something for that."

 

Sam began clattering around in the kitchen, but for once Kias felt too miserable to care. He was never drinking again. It had felt nice at the time, but in the end it'd just left him feeling awful and with memories of all the stupid things he'd done when he was drunk. He was lucky Sam's rejection had been so calm and gentle.

 

The machine that mixed food together started grinding and Kias whimpered and buried his head in his pillow. It stopped and there was more clattering, and then a moment later the bed dipped.

 

"Here, this'll help," Sam said from beside Kias. Kias looked up to see Sam holding a glass full of pink liquid.

 

Kias accepted the glass and took an experimental sip. The liquid was thick, ice cold, and fruity. It tasted good.

 

"It's just a... Well, if your people had a word for it I don't know it. It's ice, fruit, and yogurt all mixed together. I put something in it to make your head stop hurting."

 

"Medicine?"

 

"Yup. It's good stuff," Sam said. "It won't even make you sleepy like the needles did."

 

Like the... "Oh. So that's what happened."

 

"Yeah... I guess I didn't really explain that to you very well, huh?" Sam shuffled further onto the bed and lay down next to Kias. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was unsure how. "I need to take you to see a doctor again tomorrow. A different one."

 

"Why?" Kias asked cautiously, though he was careful not to sound defiant.

 

Sam made a face and averted his gaze. "Just some... things. You've been hurt in the past and the other doctor said there was some damage. This new doctor just needs to take a look so he can help fix it."

 

Sam seemed really, really uncomfortable even talking about the topic, and that set Kias on edge straight away. Kias could guess at what damage they meant, and tried to piece together why Sam might care to get something done about it.

 

Throughout everything that had happened Sam hadn't expressed the slightest sexual interest in Kias, but perhaps that didn't mean he had no plans to. He either cared about Kias' well-being or was strongly invested in pretending to, so what if he just wanted Kias to be in good physical condition before he made any kind of move?

 

Though the skin the doctor had put on his stomach had gone a long way towards speeding up the healing process, his stomach did still hurt if he touched it. He was also unhealthily thin, something Sam was clearly doing his best to change. The only thing Sam had not yet made an effort to fix that might physically impede comfortable intimacy was the scarring that remained as a reminder of what Kias had endured. Did they have medicine that could fix scarring? Kias wouldn't have been surprised.

 

"Okay..." Kias said slowly when Sam glanced over at him uncertainly. Sam might have been a nice person, but he really wasn't very good at being a master. He didn't seem to know how. It was almost endearing and, if Kias could be just a little more cunning, might even provide Kias with an advantage.

 

The thing was... Kias wasn't even sure any longer how opposed he was to doing things with Sam. If he just knew how sincere Sam’s supposed interest in his welfare was and what, exactly, Sam wanted from him, he might be perfectly happy to oblige. But Sam didn't seem to want to discuss it, so Kias didn't ask.

 

"Great," Sam said, though the smile he gave Kias was tight and not remotely genuine. "Now get off my bed. You have one of your own."

 

Kias slunk off to sit on his own bed. It was amazing how much little moments of rejection hurt when he shouldn't have wanted anything to do with Sam. He should have been glad every time Sam turned him away, but each time he wanted it less and less. Partly, he was just lonely. Sam was the only person he could even talk to, and maybe some sign that Sam appreciated his company would have been nice. But all that Kias could do about it for now was sip at his drink and sulk.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Later that night Sam noticed Kias rubbing at his chin uncomfortably and realised Kias had begun to get a little stubbly.

 

Kias was still young and his hair was fine and blond, so facial hair hadn't been a huge concern until now. With Kias’ personal hygiene having been the last thing on Sam’s mind since he brought Kias to his world, though, he'd started to look at little scruffy and neglected, and so Sam decided it was time to do something about it.

 

He took Kias into the bathroom and handed him a tube of hair removal gel. "Here. Put this on the hair you want to get rid of, count to a hundred slowly, and then wash it off. The hair will wash off with it and won't grow back again for another few months."

 

Kias nodded his understanding and took the tube, so Sam left him to it and went back into the main room to play a game on his tablet.

 

Things were quiet in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, followed by the sound of water being run into the sink. Sam was absorbed enough in his game that he thought nothing of the quiet sounds of Kias shuffling around that followed.

 

The quickly muffled sound of pain that came shortly after, however, did get his attention. When he reached the bathroom he found Kias with his pants down, clutching his genitals with a look of extreme discomfort on his face.

 

"You put it on your balls, didn't you?" Sam asked.

 

"I wasn't supposed to?" Kias asked, his voice strained.

 

"No," Sam said. "Come on, get your clothes off and get in the shower."

 

Sam only realised after he'd said it that such an instruction might be perceived as creepy, but Kias obeyed without hesitation or complaint. Sam turned the water on but let Kias wash the gel off himself. Hair came off with it.

 

"This is my fault really," Sam said after he turned the water off again. "I did notice you'd trimmed it when I saw you naked before, I just forgot."

 

Sam knelt down to study Kias' genitals. He must have gotten a good coverage of gel before the burning started, because there was no hair at all remaining. The skin looked red and sore, but there didn't appear to be any damage severe enough to require any kind of treatment.

 

"Well, you're going to be as hairless as a newborn for a while, but otherwise I think you'll be fine," Sam said. It wasn't until he looked up and met Kias' gaze that he realised he was kneeling in front of a naked guy and looking at his genitals.

 

Kias didn't look scared, though, or offended or angry. His brow was tightened slightly in discomfort, but hidden beneath it was a look of anticipation. When Sam glanced back down, he wasn't sure Kias' dick was quite as flaccid as it had been a moment ago. He quickly got to his feet.

 

"It should be okay, but if you notice any raw spots or breaks in the skin let me know," Sam said, already on his way out of the room. He didn't wait for Kias to answer before shutting the bathroom door behind himself.

 

Kias really was an unfair temptation. Sam could never make a move because it would be wrong, but it seemed he was destined to be constantly fighting against Kias' lure. And then to make matters worse he had to feel like the worst kind of asshole just for having dirty thoughts about Kias because Kias had been through hell and even looking at him like that was exploitative.

 

Sam lay face down on his bed, buried his face in his pillow, and groaned.

  
  


#

 

Strangely, Kias didn't seem nearly as bothered by what he'd done when he was drunk as Sam was. Sam severely doubted Kias simply didn't remember — he hadn't been _that_ drunk. He just didn't seem to care. Then again, Sam was notoriously shit at actually figuring out a single thing that went through Kias' head, so perhaps he was making too many assumptions.

 

There had been a tension in Sam ever since Dr Austin had called and reminded him to take Kias to see one of the other compound doctors, and it had only grown once he'd told Kias. And Kias, damn him, had just agreed to go without question or fuss. He made it so easy for Sam to avoid talking about difficult topics. It may have made things easier for Sam at the time, but he didn't sleep well that night.

 

Sam was glad their appointment was first thing in the morning so that they could get it over with. He was up earlier than they had to be and Kias gave him a groggy glare, but relented when Sam made him pancakes.

 

"Are you ready to see the doctor?" Sam asked.

 

Kias shrugged, but didn't speak. His mouth was full of pancake.

 

"It won't be so bad," Sam said, though he wasn't sure that was true.

 

"Okay," Kias said after he swallowed his mouthful of food, but it was frustratingly difficult to tell if he actually believed Sam or if he was just saying okay because he _always_ said okay. How was Sam supposed to take care of Kias when he didn't even know what Kias was thinking, what he was feeling?

 

Sam didn't push things, though. It wasn't like he could do anything to help Kias even if Kias was terrified. He was supposed to take care of Kias, but most of the time he just ended up feeling like a useless fuck up.

 

Sam couldn't think of anything else to say and didn't really feel like talking anyway, so they got ready and left their room more or less in silence. Though he wasn't sure, Sam thought he might be feeling even more nervous about what was about to happen than Kias was.

 

Sam had visited this doctor before, but only on the rare occasions he needed medical care at times that were not immediately following assignments. Sam didn't know this doctor as well as he did Dr Austin, and that worried him a little.

 

The doctor shook Sam's hand when he let them into the examination room, but Kias just stared at the doctor's outstretched hand for a moment when it was offered to him and then, after a helpless look in Sam's direction, took it and copied what Sam had done uncertainly.

 

The doctor laughed, though it was self deprecating rather than unkind. "I suppose I shouldn't be using culture based gestures with him."

 

"He has to learn somehow," Sam said to the doctor, and then to Kias, "Shaking hands is a kind of formal greeting. If someone offers you their hand like that, shake it."

 

Kias nodded and averted his gaze to the floor, mumbling an apology. The tiny bit of confidence he'd gained since arriving on Sam's world seemed to have vanished now that they were in the presence of the doctor.

 

The doctor looked as concerned by Kias' timidity as Sam was. "Let's take a look at his stomach first. Sam, would you mind getting him to sit on the examination table and take his shirt off so I can unwrap the bandage and take a look?"

 

Sam passed the instructions along to Kias, and Kias obeyed without objection or hesitation. He tensed up when the doctor touched him, but he didn't look like he was about to start panicking.

 

"It looks good," the doctor said after he'd taken a careful look at Kias' stomach. "I expect it's still a bit tender, but it's healed up nicely. You'll be able to stop bandaging it in another day or two."

 

Sam nodded, and then murmured a translation to Kias.

 

The doctor rebandaged Kias' stomach and then retrieved a hospital gown which he handed to Kias. He pointed to a screened area on the other side of the room. "Please change into the gown over there."

 

Sam translated, and Kias went over to the screened area to comply.

 

"Have you explained to him what's going to happen?" the doctor asked while Kias changed.

 

Sam shuffled guiltily. "Well... not in _detail_."

 

Which sounded stupid and mean when he said it out loud, but at the time it had felt kinder to keep the discussion of it brief. Perhaps that had been more to serve Sam's interests than Kias', though.

 

The doctor sighed. "Well, please tell him that I will need him to lie on his side facing the wall, and that I will then insert a small device no thicker than a finger into his rectum so that I can take a look and assess the amount of scar tissue and to ensure there's no major damage."

 

Kias emerged from behind the screen, looking nervous and vulnerable in the thin paper gown. He really didn't know what was about to happen, did he? And how could he? Sam hadn't told him.

 

Sam guided Kias gently with one hand on his arm. "You just need to lay down on here, and then the doctor just needs to stick this thing, this..." The doctor was applying lubricant to the long, thin medical instrument, so Sam pointed. "That. He needs to stick that inside you, and then he'll move it around a bit and then he can see your insides on here." Sam pointed to the monitor next to the bed. "It's like a television. And then he'll be done and you can get dressed and we can go home."

 

Kias just stared at Sam for a moment, and Sam doubted he'd understood half of that. "Okay," Kias said, and climbed onto the examination table. Sam guided him onto his side so that the doctor would have access.

 

The doctor lifted the back of the gown to expose Kias’ backside and moved to begin his examination. Then he paused. He shot Sam a baffled look.

 

It took Sam a moment to realise that the doctor must have noticed Kias’ tender, hairless testicles. “It was an accident.”

 

“How do you... accidentally...”

 

“It’s best not to ask,” Sam told him.

 

“Yes, probably.” After another moment of hesitation the doctor shook his head and resumed his examination.

 

Sam stayed close as the doctor got started and studied Kias' face for any signs he might start to panic. He certainly looked upset and a little frightened, but he didn't seem to be in any danger of losing control. Sam reached out a hand to stroke Kias hair, hoping to comfort him, but Kias reflexively flinched away. Sam quickly withdraw his hand. The rejection stung.

 

"It might be better if you don't touch him, Sam," the doctor said.

 

Sam nodded and muttered an apology, taking a step away from Kias. Clearly Kias found no reassurance in Sam's proximity. There were images on the monitor that moved when the doctor shifted the device inside Kias, but they were grey and blurry and meant nothing to Sam.

 

"Done," the doctor said as he withdrew the instrument. "He can get dressed now."

 

Kias seemed somewhat dazed as he went to put his clothes back on, and when Sam tried to reach out to comfort him he again flinched away. It seemed like the times Sam wanted to offer comfort the most, Kias least wanted to accept it.

 

Once Kias was dressed, the doctor sat them down to talk.

 

"It looks like there's been no serious damage, so that's very good," the doctor began. "As Doctor Austin indicated, there has been some minor scarring which may cause him some discomfort, and it's best we treat that. I'll give you some ointment and if he applies it twice daily for two weeks, the scarring should heal completely."

 

Sam translated that as best he could, but Kias was hugging himself and staring at the floor, and although he nodded Sam wasn't sure he was listening.

 

"Come on," Sam said after the doctor dismissed them. "Let's go home."

 

#

 

Kias felt angry and humiliated and betrayed, but he managed to keep it bottled up and hidden from Sam. It was ridiculous that Kias should feel so upset by such a little thing. It hadn't even hurt! It had been for his physical health, not for somebody else's pleasure. Well, maybe ultimately for Sam's pleasure, but even so. He oughtn't be so upset. Kias' eyes had been opened to just how much he'd come to expect kind treatment from Sam.

 

He'd do what he'd been told and use the ointment twice a day because he wanted to stay with Sam and that meant doing what Sam said, but he wasn't happy about it.

 

#

 

Kias had been moping all day, ever since his doctor's appointment, and Sam honestly couldn't blame him. Sam kept thinking about how he would have felt if he'd been in Kias' position, with a doctor probing his ass with some strange medical device while someone else looked on. Adding to that the fact that Kias had previously been raped, possibly many times... Sam felt very, very guilty.

 

It had been a necessary procedure in order to ensure no more severe damage had been done, Sam knew, but that didn't make him feel any less like he'd conspired in Kias' molestation. Sam made no comment when he tossed Kias the tube of ointment designed to heal the scarring later that night. He'd already told Kias how to use it, having translated directly from the doctor that morning.

 

Having a job that required constantly visiting other cultures ought to have made Sam more aware of how what was considered appropriate behaviour varied cross-culturally. Things, for instance, like appropriate levels of privacy sought when it came to doing intimate things. Sam should have been aware of this, and appreciated this, but instead, when he turned to see Kias applying the ointment while lying back on his bed, Sam's automatic react was to shout.

 

"Kias!" Sam felt bad as soon as Kias' wide, startled eyes landed on him. "Do that in the bathroom."

 

This was a nightmare, Sam thought as Kias awkwardly pulled up his pants and headed for the bathroom. Of course Kias hadn't expected privacy to be an issue. Sam had seen Kias naked three times now and had earlier that day watched him get something shoved up his ass. Why would Kias expect Sam to suddenly care about his privacy? Sam just wasn't cut out for this.

 

#

 

Kias lingered in the bathroom long after he'd finished applying the ointment, giving Sam a chance to calm down. Kias had been confused, for a moment, as to why Sam was so upset, until he had realised that he'd already gotten a bit of ointment smeared on the sheets and was likely to get even more on them if he continued doing what he was. Kias was used to having sheets so stained their original colour was impossible to determine. He would need to learn to treat the nice things Sam allowed him with more respect.

 

When Kias finally exited the bathroom Sam was asleep, lying on his back on top of the covers with his head lolled to the side. Kias knew so far he'd been nothing but trouble and disappointment to Sam, and he was beginning to wonder how long Sam would be willing to put up with it. What would happen when Kias finally annoyed him too much, and Sam realised he was more trouble than he was worth? Kias decided it was time to be proactive. Kias had two and a half years worth of experience in pleasing men, and it was well past time something he did pleased Sam.

 

Kias cautiously approached Sam's bed.

 

#

 

Sam canted his hips up, instinctively driving himself into the warm grip around his cock as his brain lazily worked to disentangle the remnants of a dissolving dream from reality. He wanted nothing more than to relax and let the clever fingers touching him work their magic, but there was something wrong with this situation, something Sam couldn't just ignore. He hadn't invited anyone into his bed. A cold flood of confusion ran through Sam’s body as he shoved the warm body nestled against his away.

 

There was a thump and a startled squeak of pain as the body hit the hard concrete floor. Sam squinted over the edge of the bed at Kias. What the fuck.

 

"What the fuck?" Sam said out loud, realising a moment later that he hadn't said it in Kias' language. When he spoke again, he made very sure Kias would understand him. "You _do not_ touch people like that without asking. Do you understand?" The erection pressing against Sam's stomach made this conversation doubly awkward. " _Never_."

 

Kias nodded quickly and scooted back further away from Sam's bed, his eyes wide and muscles tense. He startled when Sam sat up on the bed, his hands bracing against the concrete floor in preparation to push himself to his feet so that he could flee. His eyes left Sam’s only long enough to dart around the room, desperately seeking an escape.

 

Sam slapped a hand over his face. He wasn't sure what Kias' game was, but he was fairly certain whatever Kias was up to wasn't malicious in nature. If Sam hadn't been humiliatingly hard he might have made an effort to talk about things, but he was, so instead he just sighed, shook his head, and picked a wide path around Kias’ to the bathroom. They'd have to have that particular awkward conversation later.

 

Sam groaned and pressed the heels of his his hands against his eyes as he tried to clear his head. Just when he thought he understood Kias, he woke up with Kias’ hand on his dick. He didn't even understand what was going through that crazy little shit's head anymore. Somehow, Sam was the one left feeling exploitative when he couldn't get his arousal to go away without jerking off.

 

Sam had no idea what to do about this new development. Should he go back to the housing administrator and insist she find them somewhere with separate rooms? Could Sam really trust Kias to keep his hands to himself while he slept? Fuck, they were going to have to actually _talk_ about this, weren't they?

 

"We need to talk," Sam said as he exited the bathroom, and the look of fear on Kias' face immediately shook his resolve to be firm about this. But no, Sam couldn't let Kias' patheticness keep him from making sure this situation didn't repeat itself. Sam had to make himself very clear.

 

"Kias," Sam approached Kias' bed, where Kias was curled in a ball watching Sam anxiously, and tapped his knee against the corner of the mattress. "We need to discuss a little thing called 'consent.'"

 

"I'm sorry," Sam heard Kias murmur into his blanket.

 

Sam shook his head sadly and sat down on the edge of the mattress. He wished they could leave it at that. "It's not actually such a little thing. It's a really big thing. Touching someone without their permission is very bad, and can get you in a lot of trouble. Don't ever do that again."

 

"I'm sorry," Kias repeated, curling in on himself further. When he continued, his voice was quiet and shaky and Sam had to lean in to hear him. "You were angry with me and I thought if I could do something good... something you would like, for once. Maybe you wouldn't be angry anymore. But then you didn't like it and now you're even angrier and I don't know what to do to make you want me."

 

Sam wasn't sure if he ought to comfort Kias or back away while he still had the chance. Kias _wanted_ Sam to be attracted to him? In theory that was good, but Sam doubted Kias’ reasons were as innocent and innocuous as anyone elses’ might have been. "You can't _make_ someone want you, Kias."

 

"What will you do with me if you don't want me?" Kias asked, barely more than a whisper.

 

Sam was taken aback. "Nothing?" He studied Kias' face, but found no answers there. "The same thing I have been doing?"

 

Kias propped himself up slightly, his brow wrinkling with confusion. "Then what use will I be to you?"

 

Sam stared at Kias blankly for a few moments. "Wow. We really have not talked at all."

 

Kias just frowned at him, so Sam flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

 

"Did you know," Sam said, "that sometimes it's easier to leave an entire world to die than to abandon one boy?”

 

“Why did you take me?” Kias asked, his voice frail, barely above a whisper.

 

“I don’t know,” Sam said, rolling his head in a shake against the bed. “My job is only to observe and document. Your world’s not the first I’ve watched crumble, and it probably won’t be the last. I wasn't supposed to bring you back with me, but then everything was going to hell and there you were. It's so much harder to abandon someone when they're looking you in the eye and asking you for help, you know?"

 

"Are you in trouble for helping me?" Kias asked.

 

Sam chuckled. "Oh yeah. But don't worry, okay? That's my problem. Whatever happens, you'll be taken care of."

 

"But _why_?" Kias asked. "What do you want from me?"

 

The desperation and confusion in Kias' voice made Sam's heart ache. He should have explained all this to Kias from the beginning, not simply assumed Kias understood because he didn't ask questions.

 

"Nothing," Sam said. "I just want you to be happy and healthy and to be alive. You're not here to perform any kind of service to me."

 

" _Oh_ ," Kias said and the word was so weighted that Sam realised that yes, that had been exactly what Kias had thought. And if the hand on Sam's dick had been any indication of what kind of service he’d thought Sam wanted from him, well...

 

"Nobody's going to hurt you, okay?" Sam said gently. "Nobody's going to hurt you or use you ever again, and if anyone tries to I will personally punch them in the balls for you. And you know that thing about consent? That applies to anyone touching you against your will as well."

 

Kias stared down at the bedspread. "You really are just a nice guy, then."

 

Sam laughed at that, maybe a bit too hard. "Are you kidding? I've been a complete ass to you. Until a minute ago you thought I was keeping you around as some kind of sex slave, all because I couldn't get my act together enough to have a proper conversation with you. You call that _nice_?"

 

Kias glanced up. "You saved my life, fed me, clothed me, and you don't want anything in return. You're not perfect, Sam, but compared to the kind of guy I thought you were? You're really nice."

 

"If you say so." Seeing things from Kias' perspective made Sam feel a little better, but there had still been plenty of times when Sam had knowingly done the wrong thing in regards to Kias.

 

"I'm sorry I touched you without asking," Kias said. "Even if the assumptions I'd made had been correct, it would have been a stupid thing to do. But... if I can't do that for you, what _can_ I do? What's my purpose?"

 

"I told you, you don't need a purpose."

 

Kias shook his head. He looked frustrated. " _Everyone_ needs a purpose."

 

"Well, for now I suggest you simply be glad your purpose in life isn't sucking dick," Sam said, and in his head added _anymore_. "And also be glad we have ice cream in the freezer because I think we both really, really need it."

 

Getting up to get the ice cream gave Sam a moment to mull their situation over. Though he'd been dismissive of Kias' concerns regarding being useless, Sam was worried he might be out of a job soon enough as well. Even if he was allowed to return to his job, how could he? Kias couldn't be left alone for weeks or months at a time while Sam was off world, and he wouldn't gain that much independence any time soon. Sam was stuck.

 

But Kias was alive. He was alive and he could be happier and less afraid now that he knew he was safe. Sam hoped so, anyway. Sam snuck a glance over his shoulder at Kias who was still laying on his bed, and had to admit that Kias really didn't _look_ any happier. In fact, he looked about as miserable as Sam felt.

 

Sam forced a grin in Kias' direction. "Man, we are a couple of moody bastards."

 

Kias' grimaced, pushing himself up to sit on his bed. "Things are a bit messy right now."

 

The changes to Kias' body language and tone were immediately apparent to Sam, prompting him to realise not just how anxious Kias had previously been, but also how submissively he'd been behaving. Kias still looked nervous, yes, but there was a casualness to it that there hadn't been before. Shy, perhaps, rather than fearful or docile. That, at least, was something worth celebrating.

 

"I guess. But at least now, I hope, things can start getting better." Sam finished scooping ice cream into the bowls. "You want nuts on yours?"

 

“Um, okay,” Kias agreed. He gnawed on his lip, his body tense, and Sam waited patiently as Kias worked himself up to revealing what was on his mind. “You’ve given me so much. I’ve been waiting, expecting you to claim your own payment eventually, but you’re not going to, are you?”

 

Sam turned his attention to sprinkling crushed hazelnuts on top of their ice cream. “No. That’s not how we do things here.”

 

“That’s good,” Kias said. “I’m glad your world is better than mine was, even if it means I have no place in it.”

 

Sam opened his mouth to argue, but what could he say? It was true. “We’ll figure things out. Don’t worry.”

 

Kias’ eyes met Sam’s, his gaze probing and intense, and Sam realised how seldom Kias’ had braved looking him in the eye. Kias glanced away and his shoulders slumped. “Okay.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Upon further questioning Sam had been surprised to discover just how little Kias had understood about how he’d been brought to Sam’s world and just how many odd assumptions Kias had made. To help explain things a little better, Sam had taken Kias to the hanger to look at his shuttle. They couldn't go inside the shuttle because Sam wasn't on assignment, but showing him the outside of it up close had helped make explaining a little easier. By the end, though, he still wasn't sure Kias understood much of it.

 

The trip out to the hanger had also served the purpose of giving Sam some new words to teach Kias. Sam had already started teaching Kias the basics, like how to say hello and goodbye, yes and no, how to introduce himself and how to ask for food, drink, and to go to the bathroom. Now he was teaching Kias the names of a few things they hadn't had on Kias' world.

 

"That," Sam said, pointing to an aircraft the size of a very large building sitting some distance away outside of the hanger, "is the mothership."

 

Kias repeated the word to himself quietly a couple of times, and then asked, "What's it for?"

 

"A while back, we used to have cities on other worlds." Sam leant back against the hull of his shuttle, the cool metal a reassuring force against his back. "We don't anymore, but when we did, the motherships were used to transport people to them en masse. That one's been rusting out there for about fifteen years now."

 

Kias' eyes skimmed over the huge vessel, taking in the details that could be seen at this distance. "What happened to the cities?"

 

"The same thing that happened to your world."

 

"Could it happen here too?" Kias asked, suddenly looking worried.

 

"No," Sam assured him. "Hmm, how can I explain this... Okay, so there are invisible holes in worlds that people can travel through. Or, invisible until someone opens one up, anyway. That's how we got here, remember? It's also how the drones got into your world. This world is secure, though, because we've built... Well, think of them like doors. There were holes and we built doors in front of them so that we could keep them closed and locked when we weren't using them."

 

Kias frowned thoughtfully. "I think I actually understood that. A bit, anyway."

 

Sam grinned. "Maybe you learnt something from looking through my old physics books after all."

 

Kias' face scrunched up in confusion. "What's _fizz-icks_?"

 

"Nevermind."

 

#

 

"Want to watch a movie?" Sam asked after playing games on his tablet for hours at a time had started to get dull. Kias seemed to be far better at tolerating inactivity than Sam was, but Sam suspected Kias had tired of looking at the pictures in Sam's old textbooks long ago.

 

"I don't know what a movie is, Sam," Kias said tiredly without looking up from the textbook he couldn't even read. Sam had no idea what Kias thought the diagrams in it were supposed to represent.

 

"Um, the moving pictures." Sam pointed to the screen behind his bed. "On the television." Sam had taught Kias the word for television, along with the words for all the other electronics and appliances around the room.

 

Kias frowned at Sam. "That was creepy."

 

Sam sighed. "Well, yeah, now that I understand I can see that. Cuddling isn't a required part of movie watching, though."

 

Kias' mouth quirked up at the side. "Cuddles aren't creepy, Sam. You can have cuddles. But the, uh... movie, thing? Yeah, that's creepy. There are animals and they talk? For some reason?"

 

Sam couldn't help laughing. He hadn't really considered what it might seem like to Kias. Really, Sam had just been equating Kias to a small child, as like a child Kias was new to this world. Sam hadn't taken into account that Kias would already have a fully formed worldview of his own.

 

"I think I can find one without any talking animals."

 

"It's weird anyway," Kias said, but he abandoned the textbook and walked over to slump on the edge of Sam's mattress. "Moving pictures of things but they’re not alive or magic, it's just bizarre and complicated."

 

Sam shuffled over on the bed, making room for Kias. "I don't actually really understand how a television works either, you know," Sam said, and switched the television on. "It's just a matter of accepting that it _can_ work and that it _does_ work and then moving on, I think."

 

Kias was quiet as Sam browsed through the movies. "Sam?"

 

Sam made a sound of acknowledgement. No talking animals disqualified a shocking number of childrens’ movies. Maybe something with a historical setting instead? Kias might actually vaguely be able to get what was going on.

 

"Well, I know you said cuddles aren't a required part of movies..." Kias fell silent again until Sam gave him a questioning glance. "Could we, anyway?"

 

Sam tried to hold back a smile but couldn’t help it. "Okay, but as the person introducing you to our culture I should tell you that that's not really normal. Guys don't normally cuddle with other guys unless they're... Yeah, you know."

 

Kias rolled closer to Sam. "But we can anyway?"

 

Sam lifted his arm so the Kias could crawl up next to him. "Yeah, we can do it anyway. Who needs normal?"

 

#

 

Ever since Kias had found out that Sam did not, in fact, mean him any harm, the desire he felt for Sam had steadily grown. He had always found Sam attractive, but now that he no longer resented Sam he had no reason to be torn on whether or not that attraction should warrant any kind of response. He was definitely, without question, interested in Sam.

 

The problem was, Sam didn't seem to be interested in him. Kias hadn't wanted to be too obvious or pushy because even though Sam hadn't complained when that other man had kissed him it didn't mean Sam was attracted to men. And even if he was, that didn't mean he would necessarily have any interest in Kias.

 

Of course, it didn't help that Sam seemed to be completely oblivious to Kias' advances. Whether it was due to cultural differences or some kind of personal defect that kept Sam from understanding the motivations of others, Sam often seemed to have no idea what was going on in Kias' head. Sam seemed to think that when Kias tried to get close to him it was simply because he was a cuddler, and while that wasn't entirely untrue it certainly wasn't the only reason. He was worried, though, that if Sam knew what he truly wanted his cuddle supply would be cut off.

 

Sam liked movies, and while Kias mostly found them disturbing they did provide a good excuse for cuddling. It had gotten to the point that Sam didn't even question him when Kias curled in close to his body during movie time. He expected it. Because of this movies had become a bit of a routine for them, and a few days later they were watching another one. Or Sam was, anyway.

 

"You want to watch something else?" Sam asked. Kias released Sam's hand, having been playing with its fingers for the last little while, and looked up to find he had even less idea what was going on in the movie than he had before. The characters in the movie had been on a big boat, which now appeared to be sinking.

 

"This is fine," Kias said, but his attention drifted back to Sam's hand. Sam's hands were a good shape and size, his fingers slim enough to be dexterous but not twiggy or weak. He took care of his nails, keeping them filed short rather than chewing them down. They were nice hands.

 

"You're not even watching it," Sam pointed out.

 

"The boat is sinking," Kias said, though he clearly wasn't looking at the television screen.

 

"Really, we can watch something else if you like. I've seen this movie plenty of times anyway."

 

Kias sighed. "Do you care about whether I watch the movie or not, or do you care whether or not I'm content? Because you're right, I'm not watching the movie, but I am content. If you really want me to watch it, though, I will."

 

"Nah," Sam said, and drew Kias closer. "If my hands are more interesting than a movie, I guess I should be flattered."

 

"Mmhm," Kias hummed, and continued his examination. He wondered if Sam was ever going to take a hint.

 

#

 

It was a week before Sam was called before the council, and he wasn't sure if he would have preferred to put it off longer or if he'd rather just get it over with. He'd make his mind up about that, he decided, after he found out what the ruling had been.

 

Though Kias hadn't been happy about being left alone, Sam got the impression that had more to do with his concern for Sam than it did any lingering fear on his own part. Sam had told Kias that he may end up losing his job because he’d saved Kias. He hadn't told Kias about any of the legal issues, or that even if he was allowed to continue his job taking care of Kias would get in the way of him actually doing so. Sam just hoped he'd be allowed to stay on the compound even if he could no longer do his job. The compound was his home, and the people who lived there were his friends. Sam could find a less demanding job if he needed to.

 

Although the council consisted of ten members, only three of them were present to inform Sam of their ruling. Sam was glad of that. Sitting under the judgemental gaze of three council members was bad enough.

 

"I've already spoken to you, Sam," said the Marshal, "so I don't think we need to get into a discussion of what you did and why it was wrong."

 

Sam kept his gaze on the desk. "No, sir."

 

"This has been a particularly difficult ruling to make," the Marshal said. "All agreed that policies clearly state that you ought to lose your job. The only matter of contention was whether or not those policies ought to be _enforced_.

 

"As you know, we've lost several field agents recently. Maria died while on assignment several months ago, and afterwards her partner resigned. Cooper and Jay are on stress leave, and Lisa's taking time off for maternity leave. We cannot afford to lose another agent right now."

 

The Marshal leant forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. "Would you like your job back, Sam?"

 

The very thought of it made Sam's heart clench with relief. But... "Kias... I can't leave him."

 

"We thought that you could take him with you," said the council member to the Marshal's right.

 

"He's not trained," Sam said. All agents went through years of very intensive training to get their jobs. It wasn't at all easy and almost everybody dropped out. That it was so difficult was why they had so few agents.

 

"We feel he might be able to offer some helpful insight and assist you in your job despite his lack of training," the Marshal said.

 

"In other words, you're desperate," Sam concluded.

 

The Marshal smiled. "A little, but I don't necessarily think it's a terrible idea."

 

"I would be putting him in danger.”

 

"You would need his informed consent, so in truth he would be putting _himself_ in danger," the Marshal reminded Sam.

 

Sam made a face, still not entirely convinced it was the right thing to do.

 

"Think about it," said the third council member. "Talk to him about it, and let us know what you decide."

 

#

 

Kias was pretty sure that Sam had lost his job. When Sam had returned he had been distracted and morose, and whenever Kias had asked what had happened Sam would tell him that they'd talk about it later.

 

At first Kias had decided it would be best to give Sam the space he wanted, but as the evening wore on and all Sam did was lay on his bed and stare at the ceiling, Kias realised he was going to have to be more proactive. It would be dinner time soon, after all, and Kias had yet to master meal preparation.

 

Kias went and stood next to Sam's bed, staring down at him. When Sam's only response was to give Kias a disinterested glance, Kias made a sound of annoyance and climbed onto the bed.

 

Kias leant over Sam and pinned his shoulder down with one hand. "Okay, talking time."

 

Sam's lips quirked up almost imperceptibly. "And if I don't?"

 

Kias grinned. "You wouldn't fight an injured boy."

 

"Hmm." Sam brushed Kias' hair away from where it was tickling his chin. "I don't know, you've healed up pretty well."

 

"Saaam." Kias frowned and shook Sam's shoulder slightly. "Please?"

 

Sam sighed and leant his head back. "I guess ultimately it's your choice anyway."

 

Now that Sam had started talking, Kias released his shoulder and flopped down at his side instead. Kias' rested his forehead against Sam's shoulder, one arm sprawled over Sam's chest. The solid heat of Sam’s body always comforted him.

 

"Basically, the issue is that either I need to give up my job, or we need to make doing my job and supporting you into compatible things." Sam took hold of the hand Kias had rested on his chest and idly played with the fingers. "But that should be up to _you_ , you know? It's kind of a stressful and dangerous job."

 

Kias squeezed Sam's hand. "You want me to go with you?"

 

"Well, if you want, I mean. You don’t _have_ to." Sam shuffled his arm out from where it was trapped between them and wrapped it around Kias. "I told you basically what my job involves. You'd be like... my apprentice. You'd travel with me to whatever world I'm visiting and assist me and I'd train you on the job."

 

"I want to," Kias murmured.

 

"It's okay to say no," Sam continued. "I mean it's pretty dangerous. We don't really know how long we'll get on a world before the drones come, and sometimes we only get a couple of minutes warning once they're there. And when your own world has been destroyed... I mean, it's not easy knowing that in the end, you're going to have to leave everyone to die. So if you don't want to... I understand, if you don't."

 

"Sam." Kias pushed himself up on his elbow so he could see Sam's face. "I _want_ to."

 

Sam studied him skeptically. "Really?"

 

Kias huffed. "You think I'd rather stay here on a world I really don't belong in, trying to find a place, and probably being a useless burden for the rest of my life? You think because your job is scary or dangerous or sad, I'd rather stay here and do nothing? I'm tougher than you think, Sam."

 

Sam smiled and rubbed the back of Kias' head. "I'm starting to see that."

 

Kias shut his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Sam's fingers on his scalp. He flopped back down next to Sam. "You like touching me, don't you?"

 

Sam hand stilled on Kias' head before starting to withdraw. "Sorry? I thought you—"

 

"I do," Kias interrupted. "You just said it wasn't normal. If people like it, why isn't it normal?"

 

Sam returned his hand to rest on the back of Kias’ head. "Generally, if people want to get handsy with someone they get a lover. If you get all touchy feely with someone, there's usually the expectation of more."

 

"Ah." Kias nuzzled his face into Sam's side. "Then I don't know if I should be glad you're willing to be abnormal, or wish you were a bit more inclined to conform."

 

Kias didn't really know what he was doing, blatantly hitting on Sam right after Sam had just made him an offer that expressed a huge amount of trust. Sam had made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested in Kias touching him intimately, hadn't he? But when Sam let Kias press against him like he was, let Kias touch him and reciprocated touch, it made it very difficult not to want more.

 

"What do you want?" Sam asked cautiously after a long hesitation.

 

Kias mulled that over. "Can I kiss you?"

 

"Why?" Sam sounded utterly confused.

 

"Because I want to?" Kias sat up so that he could watch Sam's face. "It's not that complicated."

 

Sam made a face and turned his head away. "It would just feel weird, because you... I mean, we don't really talk about this, so I don't really know what happened. But I know in the past you've been, you know... hurt. So it seems like maybe a bad idea?"

 

It was ridiculous how bad Sam was at talking about this. Sam's bumbling awkwardness almost made it hard to be angry at him for the stupid thing he'd just said. _Almost_.

 

"Okay, so I've had a bunch of bad experiences with these things, so now I shouldn't get any good ones?" Kias glared at the side of Sam's head for several seconds before sighing and shaking his head.

 

If Sam simply wasn't interested, that was fine. Disappointing... but fine. But that he would refuse to do anything with Kias out of some kind of misplaced nobility? That was ridiculous and unfair. It wasn't as though Kias had never had willing sex before. He had. A few times before he'd been taken off the streets, and then several more times after with the other boys, when nobody had been looking. And now Sam saw him as this poor damaged thing that shouldn't ever be touched? Fuck that, and fuck him.

 

Kias tried to shove away, but Sam caught his arm at the last moment and dragged Kias back down next to him.

 

"I'm sorry, okay?" Sam told him. "I just wouldn't want to take advantage of you like that. I don't want to be an asshole."

 

Kias glared at him. "Well, you're being one."

 

Sam let out a frustrated sigh and bit his lip. "You can kiss me if you want to."

 

Kias shoved Sam away and headed back towards his own bed. "When _you_ want me to, let me know."

 

#

 

Kias had at least started acknowledging Sam again after Sam had made him stir fry for dinner, but things were still tense between them. Honestly, before they'd spoken Sam hadn't even considered that Kias might be interested. Sam had just assumed Kias was a cuddly kind of guy, and he had found he kind of liked that. Sam had been unbelievably naive, he realised, to have assumed a rape victim could never actually desire anything sexual.

 

The fact was, though, that Kias was not the boy Sam had thought he was when they'd first met. Kias was far more than just a victim, and it had been insulting for Sam to reduce him to that.

 

And, well... Sam couldn't honestly say that he'd never had impure thoughts about Kias, could he? He'd spent plenty of time feeling guilty about them. To be allowed to act on them, and for his actions to be welcomed, definitely didn't sound unappealing.

 

Sam was just worried that he'd mess up again. He'd already messed up so much with Kias, and the thought of accidentally doing something wrong in that arena and upsetting Kias... It was a difficult situation, that was for sure.

 

Sam's internal debate was interrupted by the buzzing of his communicator.

 

#

 

Apparently the council had reached their decision when they had for a reason, and once Sam had confirmed that Kias had agreed to work with him they’d been assigned a new job. They only had a couple of days to prepare, which was far from ideal, but as they never knew when the drones would come there was no time to waste.

 

Sam didn’t mind, though. Kias had almost recovered from his injury and he and Sam had been doing little more than languishing in their room, so Sam was looking forward to getting out and getting something done. Kias had seemed nervous when Sam had told him about it, but it was an excited nervous.

 

"Okay," Kias said, "there's one thing I don't get. If nobody here has ever been to these places before, how do we know anything about them?" Kias was examining the shirt which would be part of the initial outfit he'd wear when they arrived. He and Sam had been left in a side room to get changed before the final steps were taken to prepare for their departure.

 

Sam screwed up his face, trying to think of a way to explain such advanced technology to someone who didn't even understand electricity. "Well, there are these little machines, and they look like flies. We send them into crowded places in the city we choose and they watch and listen. After a week, they come back and we collect the information from them."

 

Kias gave Sam a blank stare. "You get your information from insect spies."

 

Sam grinned. "Yup. My little spies, they come and whisper to me, tell me how to speak the language."

 

Sam laughed at Kias' incredulous look. "How do you think I know your language? I didn't exactly spend years and years living amongst your people. I was there two weeks."

 

"You can talk to insects, and they told you how to speak my language?" Kias shook his head sadly at Sam. "This isn't even the weirdest thing I've encountered in your culture."

 

"I have a thing in my head, it's like a..." Sam paused to think. How could he explain the implant in his head that helped him learn new languages to someone who didn't even understand the basics of computers? "It helps me understand what the insects tell us about language, and it helps me remember it all."

 

Kias made a face. "That's creepy, Sam. In more than one way."

 

"Hush." Sam patted him on the head. "Put on your page boy outfit."

 

#

 

Sam had, initially, been against their assigned roles. Sam had been assigned the ever useful son of a wealthy merchant role, as he usually was, and Kias was playing the role of Sam's servant. There weren't many relationships which would make sense for them, as they were quite blatantly unrelated and Kias, though he was eighteen, would be too young to pass as a business partner.

 

Besides, as Kias wouldn't be able to speak the language a role where he was expected to remain quiet was ideal. Even so, considering how things had started out between he and Kias, having Kias in a role subservient to him bothered Sam. But, as Kias hadn't objected to the idea, Sam went along with it.

 

Sam liked the wealthy merchant role because he got to wear clothes that weren't too obnoxiously itchy and because he was able to buy culturally meaningful items rather than having to steal them. Well, most of the time. Other times there were things Sam wanted that money couldn't buy, and that meant stealing someone's priceless cultural artefact. Sadly, they wouldn't have long to miss it.

 

Kias wasn't so lucky on the itchy fabric front, his clothing being made of wool while Sam wore fine silk. Though Kias didn't seem to be particularly bothered by it, Sam vowed to buy him something nicer when they arrived, roles be damned. Another benefit of any role in which Sam was supposed to be wealthy was that as long as he had money, people tended to let him do as he damn well pleased. That seemed to be a constant among all societies, regardless of development level.

 

While Sam was more inclined to take his shirt off and replace it with the one from his outfit, and then do the same with his pants and shoes, Kias chose instead to strip down completely before even beginning to muddle out his new clothes. Sam tried very, very hard to keep his eyes where they were meant to be, which really was pretty much anywhere but on Kias' ass. It really was a valiant struggle, though one he was doomed to fail. When Kias caught Sam's eye and grinned, Sam realised Kias knew exactly what he was doing.

 

#

 

"Ready, Sam?" asked Charlie, one of the techs, as Sam and Kias entered the preparation room.

 

"Ah." Sam hadn't really considered where Kias would factor into the next step. It would probably be better if he was just out of the way. "You might want to leave the room for a few minutes," Sam told Kias.

 

Kias looked immediately suspicious. "Why?"

 

"Well, it's just that it'll probably be kind of scary." At Kias' scowl, Sam hurried to explain. "What I told you before, about the insects telling me the language stuff. It kind of hurts when it happens, and it'll probably look kind of distressing."

 

Kias scoffed. "So I should just leave you alone to be in pain because it might look distressing to me?" He gave Sam a reassuring smile. "If we're going to work together, I can't be stepping out every time things get scary."

 

Sam couldn't help but feel proud of Kias' determination to perform his new role properly, and he decided not to insult Kias by further questioning his fortitude.

 

"Okay, well first I have to sit over here." Sam went and sat on the floor in the centre of the room. "Then they'll do some things over there, and I'll hear all the things the insects have learnt about the language, and it'll hurt for a bit, and then it'll be over."

 

Kias nodded, and then tentatively asked. "What if I go over there too?"

 

Sam shrugged. "You don't have the thing to understand the insects, so nothing would happen to you."

 

In truth, he was carrying the whole insect thing a bit far. It was the complex details of the language which would be transferred to Sam, but that information had already been extracted from the spy robots and would be wirelessly transmitted to Sam where he sat on the floor of the room. Sam figured Kias would understand talking insects better than wireless data transmission, though.

 

Kias walked over to Sam and sat down in front of him. Taking Sam's hands in his own, Kias gave Sam a challenging look. Sam was sure this was a bad idea, but he didn't feel like arguing with Kias about it. Sam nodded at Charlie.

 

It started as a high pitched buzzing in Sam's head, more annoying than anything else, but quickly intensified until it was almost painfully loud. After that Sam's thoughts began to disintegrate, shattering each time he tried to catch hold of them as random words and phrases in a foreign language darted in and out of his mind. The vague idea that he shouldn't be squeezing his hands quite so hard entered his mind for a second before being pushed out again.

 

Sam's head hurt badly, and he was fairly sure he ought to know why but he couldn't quite manage to drag his thoughts together. He felt sweaty, though, and he was panting heavily. Was he sick? Did he have a fever? He was much too hot. He was slumped forward, his body exhausted, but something was holding him up. Someone. The pain in Sam's head was starting to clear, but his thoughts were still a mess. Sam tried to open his eyes and got a blurred close up of long, wavy, fair hair. Kias. The light hurt Sam’s eyes, so he shut them.

 

He must have fallen asleep with Kias holding him, Sam concluded. Sam had the vague idea this was odd, though. Had they been fighting? Sam hazily recalled Kias being cross over Sam not kissing him. Had Sam said sorry?

 

Sam tried to murmur an apology, but it came out garbled. He couldn't seem to get his voice to work right. Sam felt Kias pull away slightly and cracked his eyes open just enough to get an out of focus glimpse of Kias' face.

 

"Sam?" Kias' voice was too loud. It echoed in his head and made his brain hurt.

 

Sam couldn't seem to get his vocal chords to cooperate, but he wanted to say sorry, to tell Kias that he'd been an idiot because _of course_ Sam wanted to kiss him. Kias was handsome and brave and so strong and of course, of course Sam wanted to kiss him.

 

But Sam couldn't tell Kias, so he showed him.

 

#

 

Sam had stopped shaking and making pained noises, but he still hadn’t seemed quite right to Kias. When Sam had tried to speak he'd sounded like a drunk one drink away from passing out. Kias had released Sam from his embrace and leant back to look at him properly. Sam had squinted at the light as though it hurt his eyes, and without Kias' body supporting him had swayed slightly where he sat.

 

It came as something of a surprise, therefore, when Sam launched himself at Kias. For a moment Kias thought he was being attacked, but then he felt Sam's lips on his. Well, more or less on his. Sam was having a bit of trouble with his aim and had ended up kissing only half of Kias' mouth, but the intention was nonetheless clear. Kias gave up on supporting Sam's weight and allowed himself to be pushed onto his back on the hard floor.

 

Under other circumstances, having Sam lying on top of him, kissing him, would have been exactly Kias' idea of a good time. This, though... Sam was blatantly out of it. Still, if this was the only kiss he would be getting from Sam, he thought he may as well steal a proper one. Kias held Sam's head still, aligned their lips properly, and kissed Sam deeply for a moment before gathering his strength and shoving Sam off.

 

A few seconds later Sam gagged and choked, spewing up the eggs they’d had for breakfast onto the floor. Kias' patted him on the back sympathetically. Yeah, this was sadly reminiscent of trying to get off with a drunkard. Kias glared at the man on the other side of the room who was staring at them with open shock. Sam flopped down onto his back, groaning dramatically.

 

#

 

Sam wasn't altogether sure what was going on just yet, but he was pretty sure he'd just made an embarrassing attempt at kissing Kias in front of Charlie. Sam was tired. Maybe he could just take a nap on the floor for a little while?

 

Someone was saying his name, and it wasn't Kias. Charlie? Sam just wanted to sleep, but Charlie was insistent.

 

"Sam," Charlie repeated. "Do you need a doctor?"

 

This wasn't normal for him, Sam acknowledged to himself, and Charlie, having helped him many times before, knew that. It was different for everyone, but for Sam it had always just consisted of intense pain followed by a short period of mild disorientation and dizziness. Sam estimated that several minutes had gone by since the pain had stopped, but he could still barely keep his thoughts in order.

 

"Sam," Charlie said again, and Sam swatted at him vaguely until he quietened.

 

"Mmyeah," Sam said, letting his arm flop back down to the ground. "I'm fine."

 

"Do you know where you are?" Charlie asked, and the edge of panic in his voice grated on Sam. He was going to make Kias nervous. Or more nervous. Sam had probably done plenty to get the nervousness started.

 

"On the floor." Sam waved his hand around until it came into contact with Kias, then grabbed a handful of Kias' shirt and tugged. "Help me up."

 

"Sam?" Kias said, but didn't obey.

 

Sam tugged on Kias' shirt more firmly. "Help me uuup."

 

"Um, Sam," Charlie said awkwardly. "Wrong language."

 

"Ah." Sam attempted the mental switch to Kias' language and discovered that it wasn't as easy as it had been before. Where before there had only been Kias' language, there was now also the new language which had been uploaded into his chip. So that was why it had hurt more than usual. Data in the chip had had to be shuffled around to provide room. Usually each language would be deleted from his chip after the assignment was over, but as he planned on keeping Kias' language permanently it looked like he'd have more intense data transfers to look forward to in the future.

 

It took several long seconds of concentration to muddle out the words he needed. "Help me up, Kias?"

 

Had Sam known this particular language upload was going to be so intense, he would have waited until after it was over and he'd had a shower to put on his new outfit. He'd at least managed to avoid getting any puke on it, but the blue silk shirt he was wearing clung to his sweaty body uncomfortably. Kias helped Sam into the bathroom that connected to the data upload room.

 

Sam rinsed his mouth out, washing out the taste of stomach acid, and splashed water on his face. That was about the best he could do just then without wasting a lot of time they didn't have. Slowly he began to sort his mind back into order and pull himself together.

 

"Sorry about that," he told Kias, the words easier to find this time. "I suppose when you said you wanted to kiss me, that wasn't what you'd had in mind."

 

Kias' reflection in the mirror above the sink gave Sam a cautious smile. "Are you okay now?"

 

Sam nodded and rubbed the water on his damp face away from his eyes. "Yeah, sorry. It's really not usually that bad." Sam decided it would be better not to tell Kias why it had been worse this time.

 

"As long as you're okay."

 

By the time they got to the shuttle, Sam was feeling much better. It was good to be inside her again, which... okay, sounded really wrong in his head, but whatever. It was true. Kias didn't look so certain, but considering what he'd been through the last time he'd been in her, Sam didn't blame him. Hopefully things wouldn't be quite so exciting this time.

 

"Okay, so we never really know how long we'll end up staying somewhere," Sam said as he buckled Kias into his seat. "Shortest I ever had was two days. Longest was a bit over three months." Buckles done up, Sam patted Kias on the chest and headed over to his own seat. "The communications we intercept only tell us that the bad guys have the intention to slaughter the inhabitants of a world, not when they'll do it."

 

"I still don't get why they go and kill everyone. What do they gain from it?" Kias undid one of the buckles and did it up again, testing its functionality.

 

Sam did the last of his buckles up. "Eh... It's pretty much what people have always done. They want some land, so they kill the inhabitants and take it. Kind of just on a broader scale, with spectacularly unfair odds."

 

Kias was quiet for a moment, and then, "Can't you stop them?"

 

"Noooo," Sam said as he pressed the initiation button on the console. "We weren't even able to defend our own colonies. Their civilisation is far more advanced than ours.”

 

"I'm glad we can at least make a record to remember them by, then." Kias gripped the armrests of the chair, white knuckled, as the shuttle began to lift off the ground. "Even if their society is probably as terrible at the core of things as mine was."

 

Sam grinned, the feeling of the shuttle vibrating gently beneath him as he began to fly her out of the hanger exhilarating him. "Well, I had to wear itchy clothes and boots that rubbed on your world, so I'm probably a bit biased against it." And the whole institutionalised rape of teenage boys thing, Sam thought but didn't say. "Ready?" Sam asked as they approached the portal.

 

Kias nodded his head firmly, but his knuckles stayed white where he gripped the chair.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

Kias felt better once he had two feet on soft, reassuringly normal earth and no walls confining him. Sam looked so at home when he was in the shuttle, his hands moving over the controls with confident ease, but Kias didn’t think he’d ever get used to the strange piece of machinery that seemed almost like a living thing at times.

 

The shuttle was hidden above them now, hovering just above the lush, broad limbed trees. According to Sam it was, anyway. Somehow, it was completely invisible. Kias remembered how it had suddenly appeared in front of him and Sam when they'd been running from the drones when they'd first met. He'd assumed, then, that it had come out of nowhere, but he realised now that it must simply have been invisible like it was now.

 

Sam tossed Kias a pouch filled with coins as they began picking a path through the undergrowth, and although Kias was unsure what they were worth he was fairly sure the answer was 'a lot'. Reluctantly, Kias handed the bag back to Sam. It was Sam who was playing the role of the wealthy merchant. Kias was to be his servant. To be honest, though, Kias didn't mind at all. As long as they were just pretending, it sounded like it would be fun. Having never had much in the way of money of his own, however, looking at all those shiny coins had been kind of intoxicating.

 

The city came into view as they cleared the woods, though with the tall stone wall surrounding it they could see only the tops of buildings. It was smaller than Kias’ city had been but appeared to be more densely packed.

 

"We're going to have to scope out somewhere big enough to land the shuttle inside the city," Sam said as they headed across the grass towards the road that lead into the city. "I don't want to be having to worry about getting out quickly with that wall in the way."

 

Although there were differences in the architecture already evident from the little they could see, there were aspects of familiarity to Kias which hadn't been present on Sam’s world. As they approached the dirt road leading into the city, Kias breathed in the smell of dust and animals. Life had never been kind to Kias on his own world, but somehow being reminded of it was still a comfort. At least this made sense to him.

 

#

 

As they approached the city gates one of the guards called out a greeting. "Walking today?"

 

It took Sam a moment to muddle out his languages, and then another to pull himself into character. Sam squared his shoulders and stood up taller.

 

"I should hope I don't look like I've spent all day walking!" Sam responded with good cheer.

 

"Ha! I don't suppose you do." The man had tanned and freckled skin and ill-fitting armour which clinked together when he moved.

 

"The boy is from the countryside," Sam explained with a glance at Kias, improvising his story. "I felt he required some time out of the carriage before being confined to the walls of a city."

 

There were two holes in Sam's story that he could see. The first and most obvious one was that there had been no carriage, and would be no carriage. The second was that Kias was pretty damn pale, calling into question the whole country boy thing. If the guard picked up on either of those things, though, he didn't comment.

 

Instead he asked, "You've an interesting accent. Where're you from?"

 

The guard didn't sound suspicious, which was reassuring. Sam was used to this question, as while he could learn languages with ease he was fairly sure any attempts he made at mimicking local accents would be hilarious at best.

 

Sam answered with his standard response of, "Everywhere, I've travelled all my life." As he walked past, he inclined his head to the guard. "Good day."

 

Inside the city walls things were much the same as many of the other cities Sam had been in. The buildings were made of wood and stone and the road that ran through it was paved but so covered in dirt that it was hard to tell. A clucking chicken dashed out in front of them and a child followed, trying to catch the errant bird.

 

"We should get you some new clothes," Sam muttered to Kias as they paused to look around.

 

Kias looked down at his clothes, frowning in confusion. "Why?"

 

"Because wool is horrible and itchy." Sam's skin prickled at the thought of poorly processed wool against it. Nobody deserved that. "Besides, we both presently have a total of one outfit each. We could both do with some more clothes."

 

"Your people are rather obsessed with cleanliness," Kias commented. "Washing and changing clothes every day, even after doing nothing in them but sitting around in a perfectly clean room. I'm a little worried about how often you'll feel the need to change your clothes in a place with actual dirt."

 

"I sure am looking forward to you being my submissive little servant boy. You have no idea."

 

They continued down the main road running through the city. Wide access would be needed for people bringing things into the markets, so down the main road was the most logical direction to head in if they wanted to buy clothes.

 

"Oh, I'll be the best servant boy," Kias said cheerfully. "So good it'll make you uncomfortable."

 

Sam had to concede that that was a definite possibility, as even the idea of it already unsettled him. Still, as long as Kias was happy with it, Sam felt it was more like a game between them than anything.

 

Kias quieted as they entered the marketplace, falling back a step behind Sam and back into his role.

 

The marketplace was busy and bustling, the sounds of people and the occasional chicken or goat creating a sense of chaos. Immediately apparent to Sam was that this marketplace would not be a suitable place for him to land his shuttle in an emergency. The market stalls wound in between buildings on streets that were not wide enough to make a landing. He would have to find somewhere else.

 

In the buildings lining the market streets were shops selling a range of goods and it was one of these, a rather upscale looking store, that Sam selected for their clothes shopping. A local tailor would have both a wider range and a higher quality of clothes than the travelling merchants.

 

#

 

Kias immediately felt out of place in the nice shop, half expecting someone to appear and order him out the second he walked through the door. Instead, the man who came out from the back of the store greeted Sam with warm respect, ignoring Kias entirely. Sam gave Kias a reassuring smile when the man turned his back.

 

The interior of the store was mostly out of street view, the windows that provided lighting set high on the dark, polished wooden walls for privacy. It was clean and quiet in the store, unlike the street outside. Kias would have felt more at home in the bustle of people. Before Kias had been locked away and forced to service men, he’d learned to move through the thickest crowds with ease and take what he needed to survive from those who didn’t guard it closely enough. There was a part of Kias that could have easily slipped right back into that life. It was still what he thought of when he visualised freedom.

 

With the help of the shop keep it didn't take long for Sam to select a few articles of clothing. Kias was beginning to become hopeful that they would leave soon when the shop keep pulled out a tape measure and started taking Sam's measurements. Of course a few articles of clothing wouldn't be adequate for Sam. Sam had even bought Kias enough clothes to last ten days without wearing any item twice back on Sam's world, and Sam had had even more clothes than that. Kias was caught off guard when Sam said his name and gestured for him to come over.

 

Kias frowned at Sam as the shop keep started taking his measurements. He didn't like the strange man touching him, but the shop keep didn't appear to share in his objections. Frankly this surprised Kias, and he wondered what Sam had told the man. Where Kias was from it would have been blatantly obvious that Kias was not of a class that ought to have clothes made for them by a skilled tailor. Any suggestion that they ought to be would have been an insult to the craftsmanship, as it would have implied that the clothes were not finely made enough to be too good for him.

 

After Kias had been measured, Sam selected a few of the articles of clothing he'd picked out and handed them to Kias, then told him to change behind a screen in the corner of the room. Kias wasn't sure for whose sake the privacy was, but he was glad of it since he'd hidden the stupid scar lotion in his clothing and would need to transfer it. His two weeks of using it weren't yet up, so he'd brought it with him.

 

The clothes Sam had given him, while not made of fine silk like the ones Sam had chosen for himself, were still much, much nicer than Kias ought to have had within the role he was playing. The pants were made of cotton or some similar fabric, dyed a dark brown, and fit Kias snugly. They laced up at the front and had a pocket over each of his hips, the edges of which were embroidered with silver thread.

 

The shirt he was given was white and also appeared to be made of cotton, but it was somewhat more elaborate than the pants. It was quite loose, but by design rather than ill-fit, and had lace decorating it around the cuffs and the collar and lining either side of the buttons that fell down the centre of the shirt. The buttons were silver and had floral designs delicately imprinted on them. Kias tucked the tube of lotion into the back of his new pants and let the loose shirt cover it.

 

Kias was fairly sure that regular servants weren't dressed like this on any world, but the shop keep showed no signs he found it odd. After Kias had finished changing, the shop keep looked at him with consideration for several long moments before nodding in approval, looking pleased. He said something to Sam and, after Sam nodded his agreement to whatever the man had said, the shop keep headed to sort through some items on one of the shelves. When the man turned his back, Sam gave Kias a reassuring smile. Kias gave Sam a look of exasperation.

 

The shop keep returned with a white silk ribbon with silver beads sewn into it, and poked Kias gently until he turned around. The plain leather tie keeping Kias' hair in place was removed and his hair tied up again with the beaded ribbon.

 

The shop keep had suggested a decorative accessory which served no purpose other than to improve Kias' appearance. Kias was starting to get an idea of what was going through the shop keep's head. Sam's head... well, that was another story. He had no idea what Sam was thinking.

 

#

 

Sam hadn't intended to dress Kias quite so well, but the store they'd visited had been very much targeted at the upper classes. The shopkeeper hadn't seemed surprised or offended by the idea of dressing Kias nicely, at least not after Sam had explained that Kias had come from a poor family and so had only very low quality clothes, so Sam had gone with it. If it wasn't odd to dress servants nicely here, Sam figured he might as well do so. It must have been considered a sign of wealth, Sam guessed, for servants to be well clothed.

 

"Here," Sam said after they'd left the clothing store, handing Kias several of the bronze coins. "Get us something to eat. You should be able to get your point across through gesturing."

 

Kias hesitated for a moment as though he wanted to say something, but ultimately just nodded. "All right."

 

Sam could tell Kias had something on his mind, but figured it would be best to leave it until they reached the inn the shopkeeper had given him directions to. But Sam hadn't eaten all day, and Kias seemed to exist in a perpetual state of hunger, so before that had to come food. Sam trusted Kias to choose something good.

 

Sam shut his eyes and leant back against one of the buildings lining the street, listening to the voices of the people around him. Sam had blundered over his words at several points in the conversation with the shopkeeper. The man had been very forgiving and not at all suspicious, but Sam still didn't like it. Because of his implant, Sam's skill with this language would improve very quickly. Sam's only concern was that if he started at a lower level of skill it would be far more apparent when his skill with the language improved unreasonably quickly.

 

Kias had already eaten half of his food, some kind of chicken and vegetable pastry thing, by the time he returned. Sam took his own food from Kias and took a bite. It was surprisingly good. Perhaps he should let Kias pick all their meals.

 

"What do you say to an afternoon nap at a fancy inn?" Sam asked.

 

Whatever Kias said in response was made incomprehensible by all the food crammed into his mouth.

 

#

 

At first, Kias' intention had been to give Sam the leftover money back as soon as he had hands free to pry the coins out of his pocket. As his pants were tight and the material not terribly stretchy, it took a bit of finagling to get things in and out of the pockets. By the time Kias had finished eating, though, he'd forgotten about the coins. Until, that was, he saw a homeless woman and her child sitting on the corner of the street on a blanket, begging for money.

 

It wasn't breaking character, Kias decided as he dug the coins out of his pocket and then tossed them in front of the homeless lady. He was just altering his character slightly. The lady said something to him, and her smile suggested they had been words of gratitude.

 

"Remember, don't get attached," Sam reminded Kias after watching the display. "They're going to die soon."

 

"That doesn't mean they shouldn't get to eat tonight."

 

Sam considered that for a moment, and then slowly nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. They might as well enjoy their final days.”

 

They continued walking in silence for a while longer, and then Sam paused at the corner of the street, glancing in each direction. "This would be way easier if I could read the street signs..."

 

#

 

It took them almost getting lost twice before they finally found the inn Sam had been given directions to. He probably should have just given up a half hour ago and chosen another inn, but Sam could be stubborn once he had his mind set on something.

 

Architecture around this part of the city used a lot of wood, and the inn was no exception. Inside the inn the walls and ceiling were made of unpainted polished wood. The floors, too, were made of the same kind of wood, but a roll of surprisingly clean blue carpet was laid out over it leading up to a desk. Behind the desk sat a female servant, and the smile she gave them as they approached was timid but welcoming.

 

"A room for two for a week, please," Sam said, sliding one of the gold coins across the desk to her. It wasn't until her eyes went wide that Sam realised that a gold coin was likely far, far too much.

 

"Ah... I'm sorry, sir, I... I don't think I have enough change for..."

 

Sam took the gold coin back and started sorting out silver ones. He stopped when she took five of them and left the rest. It was likely to his benefit to have displayed his wealth, anyway. Servants could be awful gossips, and people knowing he was rich and therefore powerful and worth socialising with would be to Sam's advantage.

 

"Yours is room number six, sir." She slid a small silver key across the table to Sam. "Let me know if it's not to your liking. The baths are at the end of that hallway there, and the lounge and tavern are down that way." She pointed to each.

 

"And where is my room?"

 

"Through that doorway, and then up the stairs and to the left, sir."

 

"Which number down will be my room?" Sam smiled, trying his best not to look at all annoyed. The girl was starting to look nervous about failing to answer his question correctly.

 

"The rooms are numbered, sir. It will be the one with a number six on the door," she explained unhelpfully. Sam's implant helped him speak languages but not read them, something he preferred not to tip people off to. For someone wealthy a certain degree of education was expected, even if the language they were speaking was clearly not his native one.

 

"That’s not what I asked."

 

"Ah, I’m sorry, sir!" Her face went pale and her shoulders tensed up. "It will be the third room down on the left."

 

Sam placed three of the small copper coins on the desk in front of her. "Thank you."

 

The stairs leading up to the guest rooms were made of wood just like everything else in the inn, but they had more of the blue carpet down the middle of them and the bannisters were elaborately carved. Sam led Kias up them.

 

To Sam's relief, the key turned easily in the lock of the third door on the left.

 

The architecture and decorating were beautiful. Around the windows and doorway the wood was skilfully carved with decorative curls and patterns. There was a finely made chest of drawers with a vase of fresh flowers sitting on top. The frame of the bed was thick and heavy, carved from dark wood, and the blankets on top were dyed a bright blue and embroidered with flowers. _The_ bed. Singular, because there was only one of them.

 

Sam let out an annoyed huff. "I told her a room for two."

 

"Oh, she heard you," Kias said, flopping down onto the large bed.

 

It took Sam a moment to process what Kias seemed to find obvious. Sam clearly had enough money to pay for a room with more than one bed, and they surely had some. If they'd simply had none available at the time, she would have told him and asked if that was okay. "She thought we wanted to share a bed."

 

Kias smiled up at him. "You're rather naive."

 

Sam kicked one of the legs Kias had flopped over the end of the bed. "Am not."

 

"You are." Kias kicked back. "You really think people routinely pretty their regular servants up like this?" Kias flung his arms wide to indicate his clothing.

 

"A lot of that was at the suggestion of the shopkeeper..." A sinking feeling was beginning to develop in Sam's stomach. "I mean, I guess I did suggest I wanted you to be comfortable... and I may have indicated that I would favour clothes that suited you and fit you well..." Sam was starting to get a hunch as to just what he'd done. "Crap."

 

"And then you had me measured specially for new clothes." Kias pulled the silk tie out of his hair and tossed it on the bed. "And approved decorative accessories."

 

"Shit." Sam slapped a hand over his eyes in frustration. "I'm sorry, Kias. That was really stupid of me."

 

Kias didn't looked particularly upset, though. "I thought you were supposed to be some kind of expert at fitting in in these places."

 

"I'm not used to working with someone else," Sam explained. "And I'm not used to having more than casual involvement with servants. I forgot that people tend to treat their servants more as tools than companions. Generally, I prefer to find positive things to remember a society by. How servants are treated is usually anything but."

 

"At least the bed's plenty big enough for two." Kias patted the spot next to him on the bed, but Sam stayed where he was.

 

"We can probably undo this... maybe." Sam frowned and stared at where Kias' shirt had ridden up, exposing a sliver of his stomach, while he thought. "Either explain that it's not what people think, and we're just weird. Or dress you up different and find somewhere else to stay, and hope nobody who's already seen us sees us again and remembers us..."

 

"Or we can just go along with it."

 

Sam frowned, giving Kias a dubious look.

 

Kias shrugged, his shoulders rubbing against the bed spread. "It's not like we'd actually have to do anything, because that would be expected to be private. It would just allow us to not have to force so much distance and formality between us. It would make things easier."

 

"And it would make people think I pay a servant to let me fuck him."

 

Kias rolled his eyes, something Sam suspected Kias had picked up from him since as far as Sam was aware it wasn't something done in Kias' own culture. "You're being an actor, for a limited period of time. Do you really care what people think of you?"

 

Sam fisted his hands. "I care what people think of _you_."

 

Kias smiled at that. "Touching. People have thought worse of me, though, and been far more correct."

 

Sam stepped closer, his knees pressing against the tall frame of the bed. "Maybe I don't want people to think similar things of you again."

 

Kias reached out and grabbed Sam's wrist. "Sam, are you making choices for me again based on what you think is for my own good?"

 

Kias didn't seem angry, at least not yet. Just vaguely amused.

 

Sam let himself be pulled forward onto the bed. "This is the role you'd prefer?"

 

Kias pulled Sam up next to him and pushed him down onto his back, then laid his head down on Sam's chest. "Mmhm."

 

"Okay then." Sam sighed deeply, his hand reflexively going to tangle in Kias' hair. "All right."

 


	12. Chapter 12

Sam had fallen asleep, his legs dangling over the end of the bed, while Kias lay with his head on Sam's chest, listening to Sam's heart beat. When the silk of Sam's shirt started sticking uncomfortably to Kias' face, Kias sat up and stretched.

 

Kias wasn't as confident about his new role as he'd let Sam believe, but he had known if he'd shown any hesitation Sam wouldn't have gone along with it. Sam was so careful it was infuriating sometimes. Kias glanced down at Sam's sleeping form and sighed, then went to the window. Outside, people were bustling down the road on their way to or from one place or another. Likely on their way home from wherever they worked, as it would be getting dark soon.

 

The one little niggling worry Kias did have about this whole new role was how blind Sam could be to certain things. Sam had spent so much time trying to see only the good in societies so that he could record their more positive aspects that he’d been left with some rather large gaps in his understanding of cultures like Kias'.

 

Kias understood Sam's position on the matter, but he didn't agree that the experiences of all but a few wealthy and powerful individuals should be erased for the sake of a pretty picture. Sam would see just how terrible those with the most power could be and, if Kias had a bit of fun in showing him, that was good too.

 

#

 

When Sam woke up his head no longer felt like a war zone. Although the chip provided him with a place to store new information, his own brain had to work out the connections to integrate it. With two extra languages muddling around in there, it had been an awful tangle. Sam wasn't sure he would have been able to sort them apart at all if he hadn't already gotten Kias' language fixed in his mind beforehand.

 

Kias was kneeling on the floor next to the bed, his back to Sam, moving around awkwardly, and Sam couldn't figure out what he was doing.

 

"Hey," Sam said, and Kias twisted around to look at him.

 

Kias gave Sam a lopsided smile. "One moment. I know how prudish you are."

 

Sam, unable to see Kias' lower half, still couldn't figure out what Kias was doing. Not until Kias stood, giving Sam an eyeful of bare ass, and then pulled up his pants and tossed the tube of scar lotion onto the bed. That was twice he'd seen Kias' naked buttocks in one day now. If it hadn’t made him feel so awkward, Sam would have considered himself lucky.

 

Kias turned and grinned at Sam, completely at ease. "We don't exactly have our own private bathroom here. I intended to protect your virgin eyes by doing it while you were asleep."

 

Sam aimed one of the cushions from the bed at Kias' head and missed. "Nothing about me is virginal."

 

"Nothing?" Kias smiled, his eyebrow quirking up challengingly. "I bet I could find something you're a virgin to. Plenty of things."

 

"Okay, challenged denied." Sam shoved at Kias with his foot as Kias crawled onto the bed, causing him to laugh.

 

"I'm huuungry," Kias whined, rolling onto his back. "There have been food smells coming from downstairs for ages. Delicious food smells."

 

Sam glanced at the window and saw that it was, indeed, full dark out, though he had no way of determining how late it was exactly without going outside and taking a look at the moon. Not so late that food had stopped being served, though, and Sam knew that was all Kias would care about.

 

"All right," Sam said, sitting up and combing his fingers through his hair to get it to fall back into place. He stretched and yawned. "Okay. Where's your pretty hair thing?"

 

Kias let Sam tie his hair back up in the ridiculous beaded silk ribbon. It had been quite expensive for something so pointless, but as they had virtually unlimited funds Sam had bought it anyway when the shopkeeper had offered it to him. Now that Sam's brain was a bit more ordered, he could see just how obvious a sign it had been to everyone that Kias was more to Sam than a regular servant. Oh well. What was done was done, and at least Kias seemed happy enough with the change in role. Sam wasn't sure he was.

 

Sam led Kias out of the room, following the scent of roasting meat. The stairs led down to a room with a fireplace and an arrangement of lounges and padded chairs. At one end of the room there was a door leading back out to the front desk, and at the other was a door leading through to the tavern, from which the smell of cooking meat emanated.

 

As they reached the base of the stairs, a man smiled up at them from where he was reading on one of the generously padded lounges. A boy no more than fourteen leant against him, a book of his own open in his hands. The boy glanced up at them for a moment, assessed them impassively, then returned to reading.

 

The man, on the other hand, was still smiling at them, and Sam felt compelled to stop and speak to him.

 

"Hello!" the man said cheerily as he sat up. The boy gave an annoyed huff as his back support was removed.

 

"Hello," Sam greeted with a friendly smile, pulling himself into character. "We were just going to get something to eat. Do you know if they have anything good here?"

 

"The wine is good," the man said, then gestured to the couch across from himself and the boy. "Won't you sit with us a while first, though?"

 

"Certainly." Sam shot Kias an apologetic smile before leading him over to the couch. "I'm Samuel," Sam said, then poked Kias in the shoulder, "and this is Kias."

 

"Samuel," the man repeated, pronouncing it _sam-you-ell_. Sam didn't correct him. He only ever used his extended name for assignments, so he didn't really care. "I'm Kalem," the man said, patting his chest. He wrapped an arm around the boy, who grunted disapprovingly when he almost dropped his book. "This is Seba."

 

Sam wasn't sure what Kalem's relationship was with Seba, but they didn't appear to be related. Seba had long, straight black hair and skin that was pale with a bronze undertone. His eyes were dark and strongly narrowed at the outside edges, his cheekbones were high, and the bridge of his nose was flatter than average.

 

Comparatively, Kalem had features far more similar to Kias' than Seba's. His short hair was a mousy blond colour, his skin was fair — though not as light as Kias' — and he had prominent cheekbones and a long, pointed nose. Sam's best guess at his age was somewhere around thirty — not nearly old enough to be Seba's father.

 

It would also have been quite an age difference for brothers, and the difference in physical appearances would have meant they could only have been half brothers. There were countless other options for familial relations, such as being cousins, or Kalem being Seba's adoptive father, but Sam was trying his best to be less naive, and could think of more unsettling explanations for their intimate behaviour. Sam hoped those guesses were wrong.

 

"Given your unusual accent and that I haven't seen you around before, I take it you're not from here." Kalem was still smiling, and it was starting to unnerve Sam. "But I simply cannot place your accent. Where are you from?"

 

Sam decided he might as well give Kalem his full story. It was one he'd used for many assignments before, modified only slightly to fit the particular circumstances of this assignment. "My father is a merchant, so I've travelled all my life. I can't say I'm from any singular place, and my accent is a combination of many. We've never travelled quite this far out before, however. My father has sent me here to look into trade opportunities."

 

It felt like reciting a rehearsed speech, probably because it was one. He hoped Kalem didn't ask where he'd never travelled this far out from, because without even a basic knowledge of a world's geography that was pretty damn hard to answer. In the past, he'd just always said north and hoped that actually made sense.

 

If his story was odd or poorly delivered, though, Kalem was polite enough not to comment. Or perhaps simply drunk enough not to notice. He seemed a little tipsy. "Oh, you've never travelled here before? Perhaps I could show you around." Sam noted that Kalem had said I, not we, despite the fact that he and Seba were obviously very close. Either Seba would not be involved, or Kalem didn't think his involvement warranted a mention.

 

Sam inclined his head in a way he hoped translated as an expression of thanks in Kalem's culture. "We'd like that."

 

#

 

Kias had been paying attention when the man had introduced himself and his boy, and Kias was pretty sure the man was named Kalem and the boy was called Seba. While Sam talked to Kalem, Kias watched Seba.

 

He looked healthy, Kias was glad to see, and more perpetually annoyed than scared or submissive. Seba had his book open and was staring at the pages, turning them occasionally, but Kias was fairly sure he was listening to the conversation between Sam and Kalem rather than reading. Every now and then Seba would shoot Kias a look of irritation. Clearly he wished Kias would focus his attention elsewhere.

 

Sam glanced at Kias before saying something to Kalem, and then stood up, pulling Kias with him. It looked like Kalem and Seba were getting up too, so Kias surmised that they had made plans to eat together. Kias hoped that was the plan, anyway. He was hungry. Seba kept his thumb wedged between the pages of his book to save his place.

 

They did indeed head into the tavern in the next room. Sam indicated for Kias to sit and murmured, "Wait here," in his ear. Kalem prodded Seba into the chair next to Kias before heading towards the bar with Sam, presumably to order them food. Seba immediately started reading again, refusing to acknowledge Kias’ presence.

 

Kias sighed deeply and leant back in his chair. Sam actually looked like he was getting along with Kalem, although as Kias had never seen Sam in a role before he couldn't say how much of it was an act. He hoped it all was. Seba seemed more like a spoiled pet than anything, but Kias had known boys like him. He'd lived with them. Often, they were just the ones who were best at hiding things.

 

#

 

"Your boy—" Kalem began as they sat back down at the table, ignoring the fact that Sam's 'boy' was right there.

 

"Kias," Sam corrected. He gave Kias a little smile from across the table, but Kias' own expression remained impassive.

 

"Yes, Kias." Kalem's arm brushed Sam's when he reached for his cup. "He's quite old, isn't he?"

 

That was one hell of a loaded question, the social nuances of which Sam really didn't feel like getting into. "I'm older."

 

"Yes, but hardly by much," Kalem pressed. He was relaxed, though, and when Sam leant back in his chair to look at him Kalem smiled just as readily as before.

 

"I have no interest in the company of children." Sam was pretty sure he succeeded in keeping the accusatory tone out of his voice. It occurred to Sam a moment later that in some cultures intimacy with those whose genitals matched your own was only acceptable when your partner hadn't yet developed pubic hair. But fuck it. He was already pretending to be someone who essentially kept a sex slave. He wasn't going to pretend he was down with fucking kids.

 

Kalem took a long drag of his wine, licking his lips almost sensually afterwards. "It can't be easy keeping a boy his age in line, though."

 

"I find that if you give people the respect they deserve, they will give you the respect you deserve in turn." What Sam didn't say was that the respect someone _expected_ and the respect they _deserved_ were not the same thing.

 

"I suppose I can understand the appeal of someone a bit more... _mature_." Kalem quirked a smile at Sam. "Boys Seba's age can be so difficult."

 

Sam was fairly sure he was being hit on. He was fairly sure he had been for a while now. Kalem was good looking and all, but Sam made a point of not getting sexually or romantically involved with anyone on assignments.

 

Or with child molesters, ever.

 

"Teenagers are like that." Sam found Kias' leg under the table a poked it with his shoe. When Kias looked up at Sam from where he was de-shelling nuts on the table and gave him a questioning look, Sam stole his nut while he was distracted.

 

"Do you find he's more durable because of his age?" Kalem asked, and Sam couldn't stop himself from making a face at that one. Was Kalem always so blunt, or was he drunker than Sam realised? That would explain all the smiley friendliness.

 

"I don't have any point of comparison," Sam said finally, when he thought he could speak again without losing his calm. "As I said, I have no interest in children."

 

"Ah, yes, of course." Kalem emptied his cup. "I'm sorry. I'm being quite forward, aren't I?"

 

“A little, yes.”

 

Sam smiled at Kias and brushed his foot against Kias' under the table. Kias scowled at him and placed a defensive hand over his new nut, but after a moment he gave Sam a cheeky grin.

 

Sam was relieved when their food arrived, as it gave him an excuse to stop talking to Kalem. Sam was really beginning to hate this role. Now, it seemed he was going to be a magnet for 'fellow' sex slavers.

 

After a while Kalem wandered off, more noticeably drunk now, to talk to someone else he recognised. Sam was glad. He hoped by morning Kalem would no longer remember Sam had agreed to let him show him around.

 

"He's not always like that." Seba had tilted his book down towards his chest and was looking at Sam. "He can just be a... He can be like that, when he's drunk."

 

This was the first Sam had heard Seba speak. His voice was soft, and each word he spoke seemed to be carefully articulated.

 

"If a man cannot control his behaviour when he's drunk," said Sam, "then perhaps he shouldn't drink."

 

Seba winced. "Of course," he said, and then as he stood to find his master, "Excuse me."

 

"Yay, making friends," Sam murmured to Kias once they were alone at the table.

 

"Friends for life, I'm sure," Kias said between mouthfuls of food.

 

"Well, probably for the rest of _their_ lives." Sam bit into a bread roll and mulled over what he'd just said while he chewed. "Wow, that was in really poor taste."

 

Something thumped against the chair beside Sam, and Sam looked over to see a tall woman in shabby guard's armour. She grinned at him. "Can I sit with you?"

 

Sam was pretty sure that if he were to play his role strictly, his answer ought to be 'no' simply because of the woman's obviously low social status. However, as her ass in the seat meant Kalem's couldn't be, Sam gave her a small nod.

 

"Ah, thanks!" she said, beaming, and took a seat next to Sam. "Now, what do you know about cards?"

 

#

 

Kias wasn't even sure Sam understood the rules of the card game he kept losing at. What he was fairly sure of was that this lady was trying to hustle Sam. Kias didn’t know if it counted as succeeding if Sam simply didn't even care about losing all his coin.

 

Sam tapped Kias' foot under the table. "Go get me a handful of the copper coins from the bag upstairs?"

 

Kias was glad to have the opportunity to do something and gave Sam a curt nod before standing. Sitting around and watching things without being able to get involved in or understand conversation had been getting awkward.

 

It was starting to get late, and Kias was starting to get tired. He hadn't had a nap when Sam had. Most of the tavern’s occupants had gone to bed, and the rest had settled down to quiet talking. By the time Kias rounded the corner into the lounge, not much sound could be heard coming from the tavern.

 

Kalem looked up from where he was seated on the couch as Kias entered the room, giving Kias a lecherous smile. Seba kneeled on the floor in front of Kalem, his mouth too occupied for smiles of any kind.

 

For a moment Kias felt legitimately afraid, though he couldn't say why. Kalem picked up on it, though. When he took a firmer grip on the back of Seba's head and thrust forward into his mouth, hard, causing the boy to choke, Kias knew it was for him. After fear, though, came rage.

 

Kias wanted to kill Kalem. He wanted to, and he was pretty sure he could. He was pretty sure that if he let his anger take over he would be entirely capable of taking a man's life. _If_ he let his anger rule him.

 

Instead Kias bit down on the inside of his cheek, turned away, and walked up the stairs. He would not fail this assignment, fail Sam, because he was unable to control his temper.

 

#

 

It was five minutes before Sam noticed Kias had been gone longer than necessarily, ten before he started to worry, and fifteen before he abandoned his new gambling buddy to go find Kias.

 

He found Kalem first.

 

Kalem was sitting on the couch, Seba lying next to him with his head in Kalem's lap while Kalem ran fingers through Seba's long, slightly mussed hair. It looked like Kalem had finally managed to get Seba to abandon his book, as it was lying open on the floor. Sam tried to make his smile look at least vaguely sincere when Kalem noticed him.

 

"I'm just looking for Kias," Sam explained, hoping that excuse would be good enough to keep Kalem from holding him up.

 

"Oh, we saw him go upstairs just a moment ago!" His fingers snagged in Seba's hair, pulling at a knot. "Won't you sit with us while you wait?"

 

"...Of course."

 

Sam believed Kalem when he'd said Kias had gone upstairs, which meant his safety likely wasn't under question. Sam suspected Kias was simply hiding up there because he didn't want to have to walk past Kalem again, mostly because that was exactly what Sam would have done in his position. Sam hoped Kias would stay upstairs so that he could pursue him up there and leave Kalem behind.

 

Sam was out of luck, though. Just as he was attempting to extract himself from a conversation about the silk trade, something Sam knew nothing about, Kias re-emerged from upstairs.

 

#

 

Kias headed tentatively downstairs, seeking out the comfort of Sam's presence. It was unfortunate that it would have to come at the price of spending time around Kalem. Kias shot Kalem a glare as he walked past, making no attempt to disguise his anger and disgust. When Kias looked at Sam, though, he kept his expression carefully neutral.

 

As soon as Kias sat down next to Sam on the couch, Sam pulled Kias to him and held him tight against his side. Kias let out a long sigh and did his best to force himself to relax. As Sam talked to Kalem, carefully stiff and polite, he rubbed his fingers against Kias' neck and shoulders until Kias was slumped against him bonelessly. Kias kept his face buried against Sam's arm, letting himself pretend that they were alone despite the conversation going on around him.

 

He was tired. He wanted to go upstairs. Kias pulled away from Sam slightly, drawing his attention. Sam's smile, which had been forced and polite, melted into something soft and genuine when he looked at Kias. Sam's hand was still on the back of Kias' neck, and after a moment it trailed forward, across Kias' throat, and tipped Kias chin up. Sam pressed their lips together, warm and intimate. For a moment it was okay. And then Kalem laughed.

 

Whatever comment Kalem made after that, after Kias had abruptly pulled away, Kias didn't understand. Kias was angry. He was furious and he wanted to hurt someone. Instead, his fisted his hand's in Sam's shirt, knuckles white, and gritted his teeth. A few moments later Sam was urging Kias to his feet and directing him up the stairs.

 

"Sorry about that," Sam said after the door to their room had been shut and locked. "You okay now?"

 

"No!" Kias shouted, ignoring the voice in the back of his mind that told him he ought to censor himself. "I'm not okay. It's _not_ okay!"

 

"All right..." Sam said slowly, cautiously. "I don't understand why you're so upset. You're going to have to fill me in."

 

"You _kissed_ me!"

 

Sam paused, frowning in thought. "I'm sorry? I didn't know that was against the rules."

 

"You kissed me, our first _real_ kiss, in front of that asshole!" Kias pulled the tie out of his hair and tossed it to the floor angrily. It was the most destructive thing he could do without actually destroying anything.

 

Sam let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry. I didn't really think of that, I just... I mean, it wasn't a show for him. He just happened to be there."

 

Kias folded his arms across his chest defensively, but some of his anger was defusing. "Anything new, anything we haven't done before, we do alone, with privacy, first. Understand?"

 

Sam nodded, holding his hands up in surrender. "Understood." He scratched the back of his neck, hesitated. "I could make it up to you?"

 

"How?"

 

Sam stepped closer until he was in Kias' personal space, until Kias could smell Sam with every intake of breath. "Do over?"

 

Kias didn't respond with words, just shuffled closer until these chests touched with every inhale. He tilted his head up, an invitation. Sam took it.

 

Sam's lips moved slowly against Kias’ at first, gentle and hesitant, but his enthusiasm grew as Kias responded with fervour. He urged Kias back the couple of steps needed to push him against the wall, using the support to press more closely against Kias. For a moment, Kias liked it. He liked Sam's body firm against his own, he liked the friction between them as Sam moved against him, providing stimulation to a growing need.

 

And then he didn't. Suddenly he was afraid and he was trapped, and he was pressed against the wall and Sam was bigger than him, and stronger. He felt like he was suffocating, though in truth Sam’s body wasn’t pressed against his with anywhere near enough force to do much to constrict his breathing. He tried to fight his brain, to push away the fear with logic, but the longer he was trapped, the more he began to panic. It was only a few seconds before Sam stepped away, giving him room, but it felt far longer.

 

Kias slid down the wall and sat on the floor, arms folded on top of his knees and head buried in them. He was okay. He was _fine_. This was stupid. He wasn't afraid of Sam! This was ridiculous, Sam would never hurt him. He knew that.

 

Sam knelt down cautiously on the floor in front of Kias. "Kias..."

 

"Shut up," Kias said, shooting Sam a glare over his folded arms. "Don't even... Just _shut up_."

 

Now that the fear was fading, all that was left was shame. After all he'd told Sam about what a big boy he was, how he could deal with sex just fine despite all that had happened to him, he'd gone and freaked out the moment things had started getting heated. Fucking brilliant.

 

And it was completely stupid! He'd had sex without issue with the other boys in the house when nobody had been looking, and he'd enjoyed it just fine! Of course, the circumstances there had been different. Most of those boys had been smaller than him, younger than him, and certainly more submissive than him. Kias had been the one pushing people against things, holding them down.

 

Not that he'd received many complaints. On a couple of occasions the boys had freaked out like Kias just had, despite their initial willingness. Usually, though, they were just happy to be touched in a way that felt nice.

 

"Ugh." Kias rubbed his eye, looking up at Sam. "This is stupid."

 

"You've been through a traumatic event and something reminded you of that so you got scared. It makes sense."

 

Kais frowned in annoyance. "No it doesn't. I am _not_ scared of you."

 

Sam sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't work like that, unfortunately. You can't logic it away. I kind of... well, I expected this to happen, eventually. I just didn't know what would trigger you."

 

When Kias didn't seem inclined to respond, Sam continued. "I've been through the same thing, though for different reasons. I wasn't born on the world I call home now, you know." Sam flopped back so he was seated properly on the floor. "My world was destroyed, like yours, when I was a kid."

 

That got Kias' interest. "So someone saved you like you saved me?"

 

"Not exactly." Sam rubbed idly at his chin. "My world was a colony of the one I live on now, so there was an official rescue effort for the few survivors. I used to run away all the time, go climb the rocky hills and play in the trees on top. I happened to be up there, skipping my lessons, the day of the attack. That was the only reason I survived. I was nine."

 

Kias listened, wide eyed.

 

"When I was first taken to the main world, I was a mess. Loud noises, machinery, freaked me out. I was scared of the dark, I had nightmares. And I was so, so angry. I was angry that I was safe but the fear wouldn't leave me. I felt guilty because I'd survived, that I'd stayed and hid, while everyone else had died.

 

"But," Sam said, "I had people to talk to about it. Actual professional people who were paid to know about these things and about how to deal with them. I can't offer you that, and I'm sorry."

 

Kias was quiet for a long time as he processed Sam's story. "We're going to try this again."

 

Sam gave Kias a nervous look. "Maybe that's not a great idea. We could try another time?"

 

"No," Kias said firmly. "I need to." Kias crawled closer to Sam and poked him in the chest. "We just need to do things a little differently."

 

Sam paused in consideration for a few moments, then nodded. "Tell me what you need."

 

"Okay, put your legs out in front of you like this." Kias sat beside Sam with his legs pressed together in a straight line in front of him. Sam mimicked his position. "Good," Kias said, then crawled onto Sam's lap and straddled his thighs.

 

This was far more within Kias' comfort zone. Sam was still bigger than him, stronger than him. He could still overpower Kias if he wanted to. But when he was like this... well, it at least let Kias feel like he had the power.

 

Kias looked down at Sam, finding both concern and desire in Sam's eyes. Kias ground himself forward, rolling his his hips to cause friction just where they needed it. It felt good, so Kias did it again as he pressed his lips to Sam's. As they kissed, Sam's hand drifted to Kias' ass, giving it a tentative squeeze, then gripped it more firmly when Kias' responded by grinding himself against Sam with renewed vigour. Kias' pants were quickly going from snug to much too tight.

 

Kias pulled away for a moment, pushing himself back so he had space to untie the string keeping his pants tied up and currently digging into his dick. He could do without it doing either of those things.

 

Kias had to stand to remove his pants, one leg on either side of Sam's thighs as he pushed down the tight fabric. Sam unconsciously licked his lips when Kias' erection sprang free, standing tall a hand span away from Sam's face.

 

Sam swallowed. "Do you want me to...?"

 

Kias considered for a moment, but decided Sam's soft pink lips looked too good not to taste again. Kias kicked off his pants before sinking down again to straddle Sam's thighs.

 

"Okay, that's good too." Sam started unbuttoning his shirt. "Gimme a minute. I like this shirt."

 

Once Sam’s shirt was removed, Kias was left with the bare expanse of beautiful skin that was Sam's chest. He scooted forward, pressing himself against Sam's stomach, shifting against him. The drag and rub of bare skin against Kias’ cock made Kias shake with need. He found Sam's mouth again and kissed him roughly.

 

With each downward stroke against Sam's stomach, Kias' could feel Sam's own hardness pushing against the confines of Sam's pants. Sam's hips jolted slightly each time Kias' sank back into his lap, but Sam made no attempt to gain more stimulation or to free his straining erection.

 

Kias broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around Sam's neck, his head dropping to breathe heavily against Sam's ear. His movements were desperate, instinctive, no longer under his conscious control and fuelled by a growing need. Sam lifted the bottom of Kias' shirt up, out of the way, moments before Kias found his release. Kias was used to keeping quiet, but he couldn't help letting out a muffled cry as his body pulsed with pleasure.

 

Kias flopped down on the floor beside Sam, panting and spent.

 

"Hmm," said Sam after a few moments, and Kias looked over at him. Sam had leant back, propping himself on his elbows, and was staring at the mess Kias had made on his chest. "You know, I didn't really consider how we were going to clean this up."

 

Kias hummed and poked a finger into one of the milky streaks, drawing a spiral with the fluid.

 

Sam laughed. "We don't really need four pillows, do we? We only have two heads between us." Sam let himself fall fully onto his back, and reached up to stroke a hand over Kias' hair. "Do you think they'd kick us out if we used one of their pillow cases to mop up semen?"

 

Kias grinned and forced his tired body to stand. "If they do, it'll be worth it."

 

The pillowcases were made of fine, embroidered cotton, and were so excessive that Kias felt a tiny thrill as he wiped Sam's chest clean, likely permanently staining the fabric.

 

"Do you want me to do something..." Kias asked, eyeing the slowly shrinking bulge in Sam's pants. "You know, for you."

 

Sam sat up and pulled Kias close, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Next time. I think we're both a bit tired tonight."

 

Kias made a vague sound of agreement. He'd seen Sam naked and he'd really like to know what Sam looked like hard and needy, but he was very tired. He felt kind of bad for getting off and not granting Sam any release, but Kias would prefer to take his time with things when he had time and energy to spare.

 


	13. Chapter 13

As consciousness slowly seeped into Sam's mind he catalogued what he could without having to open his eyes. He was naked; that was immediately apparent. He was lying on his back and could feel Kias' forehead against his shoulder, Kias' breath against his arm. One of Kias' arms lay across Sam's chest.

 

Sam remembered the night before, when they'd decided it would be best to sleep naked. Because their clothes were uncomfortable and because they didn't want to wrinkle them more than they already were and because Kias had a fantastic ass, and really, it would be a pity to cover it up.

 

Sam slid carefully out from under Kias' arm, managing not to wake him. He would have liked to doze in the comforting warmth of Kias' ambient body head for another hour or so, but he had work to do. So far, he'd done jack shit towards actually making a record of this society. Sam fished through the pile of abandoned clothes on the floor and located the small notebook and pen he'd hidden in his jacket. It was time to start writing down details of some of the things he’d seen so far. Though... perhaps he'd make a few omissions.

 

#

 

When Kias awoke, sleepily groping around for Sam's body, he discovered Sam was no longer in bed with him. He felt an unpleasant jolt of anxiety, reminiscent of the first time he'd fallen asleep with Sam but woken up without him. But then the scratch of a pen drew Kias' attention to the other side of the room where Sam sat on a chair near the window. He had a small book in his lap that he was writing into. Kias stayed quiet, still, and watched him.

 

Sam had put his pants back on but was still sans shirt, his dark skin looking even more delicious in the morning light streaming through the windows. The light also made the scar tissue marring Sam's shoulder stand out more distinctly. It looked much like the almost healed scar on Kias' stomach, and Kias was fairly sure Sam had gotten it in much the same way as Kias had gotten his. Kias wondered if Sam had ever used his scar to impress men. Or women? Kias didn't even know if Sam was attracted to women or not. He'd never asked.

 

Sam glanced up and, seeing Kias awake, smiled at him, letting his book fall shit. "Sleep well?"

 

Kias made an incoherent sound and stretched, exposing a generous expanse of naked torso in the process. He felt gratified when Sam's eyes lingered on the bare skin.

 

"I was thinking we could start our day off with a bath," Sam said as he stood.

 

"I don't think people here bathe every day, Sam."

 

Sam grinned. "I know, but I'm feeling rather sticky." Sam patted his hand at the base of his ribs, and yeah, Kias could maybe remember how that might have come about.

 

Kias bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I guess there are some things a man of your status might do better not to smell of all day."

 

"Just my thoughts." Sam pulled his shirt and jacket on, then hid the pen and book in a pocket inside the jacket.

 

Kias crawled out of bed, well aware of Sam watching while pretending not to watch. His pants were a pain to get into, and it seemed a lot of trouble when the baths were just downstairs, but he did it anyway. Kias wasn't exactly used to such aversion to nudity yet, but he much preferred it to what he'd seen last night.

 

Kias wondered if the thought of getting caught turned Kalem on or if it was just so socially acceptable to do things like that in public here that nobody else would have minded if they had seen it. Sadly, it was hardly the first time Kias had walked in on a scene like that, but he'd hoped he would never have to again.

 

As they descended the stairs Sam wrapped an arm around Kias, his hand coming to rest lightly on Kias’ hip. Kias wondered if it was new found dedication to his role, or if it was some kind of after effect of the intimacy they'd shared the previous night. Kias hoped it was the latter. He hoped the casual affection in Sam's touch was real and would last beyond this assignment.

 

The baths, it turned out, weren't so much baths, plural, as they were a bath. A rather large one.

 

The bath was circular, sunk into the ground, and big enough that it was almost twice the length of Kias' body. It was already filled with clean, steaming water. Kias hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about the bath idea — it had seemed a bit superfluous — but Sam had shut the door and was taking off his shirt and yeah, Kias was starting to like the idea.

 

Kias' shirt came off easily but his pants were always the struggle, especially with all the steam in the room making the material cling to his legs. Kias wasn't sure if the pants were meant to be this tight or if they just fit him poorly, but Sam was already naked while Kias was still trying to force the things down his thighs. Sam laughed at Kias from where he sat on the edge of the bath, dangling his legs into the water.

 

Kias yanked his pants the rest of the way down and tossed them in the corner. "Did you really have to get me pants that are so difficult to get in and out of?"

 

Sam grinned up at him innocently, feet kicking the water idly. "I didn't anticipate needing to get you out of them quickly. Given the way they make your ass look, though, I should have."

 

"Funny." With a firm shove from behind, Kias sent Sam splashing face first into the water.

 

Sam spluttered to the surface, laughing, then ducked his head under the water again to wash his hair away from his face. He smiled at Kias after resurfacing. "Come in! Water's nice."

 

The water was indeed nice, Kias found when he slipped in, but he wasn't sure how much of the warmth he was feeling was coming from the water and how much was from seeing Sam wet and naked. He was pretty sure the sight before him could get his blood warming on even the coldest of winter nights.

 

At its deepest the water only came up to the middle of Kias' chest, which was something of a relief since Kias couldn't swim. Sam clearly could, though, and did, gliding the short distance through the water to the other side of the bath. When Sam beckoned him over, Kias decided to preserve any dignity he still retained and waded through the water instead.

 

"Soap," Sam said, holding up a white, slightly misshapen lump. "Dunk your head under. I want to wash your hair."

 

Kias gave him a sceptical look. "I washed it before we left, which was about a day ago now. It can't really need washing again already."

 

"I didn't say your hair _needs_ washing," Sam said with a promising smile. "I said I want to wash it."

 

It was an unpleasant sensation, water all around Kias' head, dampening sound, as Kias submerged his head. He spluttered as he lifted his head out of the water again, wiping errant strands of hair away from his face. Sam grinned and motioned for Kias to sit in front of him on the bench that ran along the edge of the bath underneath the water.

 

Sam's hands were gentle as they worked the soap into Kias' hair, building up a lather. Kias was reminded of the first day they'd met, when Sam had brought Kias back to his world and they'd showered together. Except... well, there was a more intimate undercurrent here. Kias wasn't sure if he was just reading more into it because the previous night was on his mind or if the way Sam touched him had actually changed, but it just felt more... _more_.

 

Sam's fingers rubbed against Kias' scalp, relaxing him when he hadn't even been aware he'd been tense. Maybe he was always tense.

 

When Sam spoke again his voice was barely above a whisper, preserving Kias' sense of calm. "Okay, dunk your head again. Try to rinse all the soap out."

 

Getting the soap out was far more of a bother than making his hair damp had been, and Kias wished for the simplicity showers provided. It probably hadn’t been a good idea, putting soap in his hair when it didn’t need it, but the feeling of Sam’s hands on his scalp had been worth drying his hair out a little.

 

"Okay, sit on the bench again," Sam said after Kias had finished. "Back to me."

 

Kias obeyed, and Sam pushed Kias' wet hair over his shoulders before starting to rub the bar of soap against Kias' back. There were no wash cloths, so after the soap had been applied it was just Kias' slippery, soapy skin and Sam's hands gliding over that skin. Kias was beginning to wonder if this was a deliberate attempt at seduction or if that was merely an incidental side effect. Kias was feeling pretty thoroughly seduced.

 

"Okay, turn," Sam said softly after a while. Kias obeyed, turning on the bench to face Sam.

 

Sam looked down at Kias' lap and grinned as he wet the soap. "Well, I'm glad to see you're enjoying this."

 

Sam had to move close to reach Kias' chest, one knee between Kias' thighs and his other leg dangling off the edge of the bench.

 

"You're the one who's washing me just because you find it amusing," Kias' huffed, but he couldn't help but notice that Sam wasn't entirely unaffected by the experience either.

 

Kias didn't really understand why they were playing games. He was enjoying Sam's soap slicked hands rubbing against his chest, yes, but it seemed to Kias that Sam was intentionally avoiding giving Kias — and himself — what they clearly wanted. When Sam's thumb stroked over Kias' nipple, Kias almost lost control and just pounced on Sam. But this was a game and there seemed to be rules, and Kias would do his best.

 

"Want me to wash anything else?" Sam asked after a while, and it didn't even sound suggestive. Just earnest.

 

But Kias was growing impatient with the game. Sam was older than he was and knew more about doing sex stuff the right way, and yeah, being washed actually felt really, really nice, but... "Yeah, my dick."

 

Sam actually had the nerve to look surprised and laugh a little, like yeah, totally unexpected turn of events. But there were rules Kias didn't understand and he'd broken them and he really just did not care anymore as long as Sam would give him what he needed.

 

"Well, all right then," Sam said with an easy shrug. "Kneel up on the bench."

 

Kias obeyed, kneeling on the bench so that the water reached the middle of his thighs.

 

Sam smiled and then snickered before quickly forcing his facial expression back to neutrality. When Kias frowned at him, Sam smiled again and explained. "I'd forgotten about the, uh." Sam gestured in the direction of Kias genitals. "The unfortunate incident with the hair removal stuff."

 

"I thought it was what you wanted me to do," Kias said.

 

Sam's fingers slowly stroked up and down Kias' thigh, and Kias shivered. "Because naturally my thoughts were 'that guy's hot, but he'd be hotter if he looked more prepubescent.'"

 

Kias shrugged and shifted restlessly under the attention of Sam’s fingers. "I didn't know you then, Sam. It wasn't out of line with what I expected from you at the time."

 

For a moment Sam looked troubled by the reminder, but then he took a deep breath and his face relaxed as he let it go. “ _Anyway_. I don't think we should actually put the soap on your dick. It might be a bit too harsh on the skin. Let me wash around it with the soap first."

 

Kias made an incoherent grumbling noise as Sam began to lather up the soap again, rubbing it over his thighs.

 

"This okay?" Sam asked as he gently rubbed the soapy lather into Kias' balls.

 

Kias wanted to say that it would be a lot more okay if Sam's hand was just slightly higher, but instead he made an embarrassing whimpering noise which sounded enough like a yes for Sam to continue what he was doing.

 

"Okay, get in the water and rinse the soap off," Sam instructed after rubbing his soapy hands over Kias' ass a few times.

 

Blinking the haze of arousal out of his eyes, Kias frowned at Sam. "Hey, you said you'd..." Kias gestured vaguely.

 

Sam grinned. "No soap on the dick, remember?" He gave Kias a shove, sending him into the water with a splash.

 

"You're mean," Kias said, shoving his damp hair away from his face. "I should report you for being mean."

 

"I shall make sure to translate your cruelty report with the utmost accuracy." Sam held out an arm to Kias. "All right, come back here."

 

Finally, finally the game seemed to be over, and when Kias knelt on the bench in front of Sam again, Sam's hand was on him almost immediately.

 

Sam chuckled, carefully pulling back Kias' foreskin. He ran gentle fingers over the glands, and splashed water over it to rinse it. "We'll be the most unpopular inn patrons if we make a mess of their bath."

 

Kias wasn't entirely sure that was true, given what he'd witnessed Kalem doing with Seba on the couch last night. He was too busy making needy sounds and resisting the urge to thrust into Sam's hand to say so, though.

 

It was then, of course, that Kias heard the sound of the door opening.

 

#

 

For a moment everything — Sam's hand on Kias' dick, Seba in the doorway — froze. Then Kias made a sound of annoyance and Sam realised that yeah, he still had a handful of Kias' junk, and let go. Kias let himself fall back to sit on the bench properly while Sam's eyes remained firmly over Kias' shoulder on Seba.

 

"Sorry," Seba said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He was dressed in loose, plain cotton clothes that Sam concluded were probably sleepwear and was carrying another set of clothing in his arms.

 

Sam managed to recover from his surprise and pull himself back into character.

 

"No, my apologies," Sam said, desperately trying to sound calm and controlled despite what he'd just been caught doing by a fourteen year old boy. "The bath is for all guests. My behaviour was inappropriate."

 

Seba made a small sound of acknowledgement but, Sam noticed, didn't actually disagree. In fact, he took the statement to heart by stepping into the room and shutting the door behind himself. Sam averted his eyes when Seba started to take his shirt off.

 

"Kalem wanted me to speak with you," Sam heard Seba say, followed by the soft sound of fabric hitting the floor. "He was a bit drunk last night, and he's concerned he may have behaved inappropriately."

 

"He did come on rather strongly," Sam admitted, eyes on his feet as he kicked them idly under the water.

 

There was the sound of more fabric hitting the ground and then soft footsteps, and when Seba spoke next he was closer. "I think he was more concerned that... Well, you two, you and Kias, seem to be rather close, more than... In any case, he thinks his actions may have offended Kias, and that may have bothered you. Maybe."

 

Sam gave Kias a questioning glance, accidentally getting an eyeful of naked fourteen year old boy as Seba slid into the bath a respectful distance away on Kias’ other side. Sam quickly averted his eyes again and addressed Kias. "Seba said he thinks Kalem offended you. Any idea why he might think that?"

 

"Kalem's existence offends me," Kias said firmly. He tangled his foot under the water with Sam's.

 

"Did he do something, though?" Sam asked cautiously. "I had to go looking for you because you took so long coming back..."

 

"I know what he did and they know what he did and I really don't think your life would be improved by knowing," Kias said in a way that was somehow defensive. When Sam glanced at him, careful to avoid looking at naked Seba, Kias' shoulders were hunched and he was staring down at his hands which rubbed together apprehensively.

 

Sam was silent for several long moments before finally building up the courage to ask, "Did he touch you, Kias?"

 

Kias' head immediately snapped up to give Sam a look which suggested he thought Sam was somehow mentally impaired. " _No_." Kias shook his head in annoyance. "He didn't touch _me_." Kias nodded his head in Seba's direction.

 

"Ah..." Sam said slowly, the pieces finally starting to come together. Well, it sounded like he and Kias weren't the only ones partaking in some rather public displays of affection.

 

Sam addressed Seba again while keeping his eyes carefully averted. "He is a little displeased, yes."

 

"That's what I thought," Seba said. "He suggested I offer to make it up to you or to Kias, but... well, I think that would just offend you more. You won't even look at me."

 

Sam had some ideas as to what Seba had meant by making it up to them, but he preferred not to think about it too much. "I don't think anyone who's not your own age should be showing that kind of interest in someone as young as you."

 

"Yes, that's the impression I got," Seba said. Sam heard splashing from his side of the bath, likely Seba starting to wash himself. "So let's pretend I offered with the utmost sincerity and you politely declined."

 

"Whatever keeps you out of trouble." Sam decided he may as well start washing himself so they could get out of this awkward situation as quickly as possible. He found the soap, and started building up a lather on his chest.

 

"This isn't your native language," Seba observed. "What language do you speak?"

 

Sam splashed water on his chest to rinse it off. "You wouldn't have heard of it."

 

"Try me," Seba said, and it sounded almost like a challenge.

 

"You wouldn't have heard of it," Sam repeated, this time in his own language.

 

Seba was silent for a stretch, and Sam noticed that the sounds of him washing had paused. "You're right. I've never heard that language before."

 

"Mhmm," Sam hummed, too occupied with washing his face for actual words.

 

"Will you teach me?" Seba asked, and he sounded so earnest that it surprised Sam into looking up at him. And then quickly away again because wow, yup, still completely naked.

 

"It's not a language you would ever come across again. It would be of no use to you." Especially since you're going to die soon, Sam added mentally.

 

"That's why I want you to teach me," Seba said. "Because I'm unlikely to find anyone else who could."

 

Sam was now thoroughly clean, he decided, and leaving would no longer be a kind of running away. He'd done what he'd come there to do. "We'll be very busy and I really don't know how teaching you would benefit me," Sam said as he stepped out of the bath. Kias followed.

 

Sam heard the splash of Seba standing as well. "I could help you! I know my way around, I know where things are. I can get Kalem to agree to let me, too. I know how to deal with him."

 

Picking up a towel to dry off with, Sam let out a long sigh and considered the pros and cons of agreeing to Seba's proposal as he dried himself off. A negative point was definitely that he was connected to Kalem. Sam was sick to death of Kalem. Sam was also concerned that Seba might get clingy. His only companionship appeared to be from a child molester, so Sam wouldn't have been surprised if Seba firmly attached himself to anyone not trying to touch his junk.

 

But there were advantages, too. Having a guide to the city could certainly be useful, and if Seba could manipulate Kalem as he said perhaps he'd be able to buy Sam and Kias a little peace from the guy.

 

By the time Sam was dry, he'd made his decision.

 

"I am going to give you five words, and then me and Kias are going to go have breakfast. Meet us afterwards. If at that time you can tell me the five words I gave you and what they mean, you can come with us and be our guide, and I'll teach you more words."

 

There were a few moments and silence, and then Seba spoke. "Give me ten."

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

"What are we doing today?" Kias asked around a mouthful of bread as they sat eating. It was quiet in the tavern. Kias had slept late and then they'd lingered in the bath, so most of the morning crowd had already moved through.

 

"Shopping." Sam took a swallow of water from his wooden cup. "I tend to go for finely crafted art. Vases, sculptures, paintings, books. Anything that someone with a lot of skill put a lot of time into."

 

Kias was quiet, and Sam could tell by the fact that he'd actually stopped eating halfway through a meal that it was a meaningful silence. Sam's eyebrows quirked up questioningly. "What?"

 

Kias' lips, pressed tightly together, twisted uncertainly before he decided to speak. "Can we get some oil?"

 

It took Sam a moment to figure out why Kias wanted oil and why he looked so nervous about it.

 

"Oh," Sam said when he finally put the pieces together. "Well, sure, if you want. I don't really know what kind to get, or... I mean, I've never, on any world but my own, so I don't... We use different stuff on my world."

 

Kias' lips stretched into a small smile, obviously reassured by the fact that Sam was just as awkward about this as he was. "Well, I'm sure Seba would know."

 

The expression Sam's face contorted into must have been quite comical, because Kias laughed.

 

"I'm not asking a fourteen year old boy what the best kind of oil to use for... for _that kind of thing_ is," Sam said.

 

Kias shook his head sadly. "This is exactly what you do to me, you know." Kias took another bite of bread, chewed, swallowed. "You decide how things should be and you try and force them into being that way by acting as though that's how they are. It doesn't work like that, Sam."

 

"I suppose it's mildly less awkward than asking a vendor and preferable to getting something unsuitable."

 

"Remember, Sam," Kias said. "Treating someone how you want them to be treated rather than how _they'd_ like to be treated is still selfish, even if you think your way is nicer. It's also kind of insulting. I've been through a lot and I'm guessing Seba has, too. You tiptoe around us, and it dismisses the strength we've gained by surviving through that."

 

Sam stared at Kias for several seconds, frowning. "How are you so damn wise?"

 

Kias shrugged carelessly. "You’ve had so many opportunities and experiences available to you. I've only had a few. The few things I do know, though, I know very well. I'm glad you've never had to learn what it's like from my position first hand."

 

"Yeah.” Sam raked a hand through his slightly damp hair. "Thanks for telling me this stuff. I do appreciate it. I have to admit, you've been much more helpful than I expected."

 

Kias glanced up as Seba approached and wiped his mouth on the cotton cloth provided. "I don't think I'd have to do much to be more helpful than you expected," Kias said before Seba reached them and interrupted their conversation. Sam's stomach sunk. Yeah, that was a pretty accurate assessment.

 

Sam gave Seba an unimpressed once over. "I said _after_ breakfast."

 

Seba let out a huff and glanced around anxiously. "He's being _difficult_. He has agreed to let me go, but I think it's better if I'm not around him right now."

 

"Is he going to come looking for you and interrupt our breakfast, then?" Sam knew he was being unkind, but as Seba, along with everyone else in his world, was going to die soon, the only thing being kind to him would do was risk developing an attachment. Short of death or actually disobeying rules, getting attached was the worst thing you could do while on an assignment.

 

Seba shook his head firmly. "He won't. He thinks you're cross with him and seeing him would only make you crosser. He also thinks you have some important influence you would not hesitate to use." Seba bit back a smile. "For some reason."

 

Sam's lips slowly stretched into a genuine smile. "Take a seat, Seba."

 

Honestly, Sam didn't really know why he'd bothered to test Seba on something only Seba even cared about. Sam wanted a tour guide; he didn't care if Seba learnt his language or not. Seba passed, though. Sam had to correct his pronunciation of a couple of the vowel sounds, but he remembered all of his words and what they meant.

 

It had been difficult to think of ten words that were truly vital. In the end, Sam had settled with hello, goodbye, yes, no, please, thank you, sorry, toilet, food, and drink. He had Seba repeat them, varying their order, as they made their way down to the markets. By the time they reached the first cluster of stalls, Seba hardly even needed to pause for thought before reciting each word at Sam’s request.

 

"Now you can have the most super basic conversations with him," Sam said to Seba, gesturing to Kias as they walked. "He doesn't know very much more of my language."

 

Seba quirked his head to the side curiously. "He doesn't speak the same language as you?"

 

"No." Sam paused to glance over the jewellery on display at one of the market stalls and then, seeing they were of poor design, moved on. "I speak his fluently, though."

 

Seba dodged around a man carrying a carton of fruit, then hurried to catch up. "Do you think he would teach me?"

 

Sam frowned at Seba, leaning back against a stall while Kias looked over its contents. "You're already learning one language from me. Do you really need to learn a second one?"

 

Seba's shoulders went back and he held himself tall. "I can speak eight languages, five of them fluently, and can read and write in three of those. I know I’m not a scholar, but in two years time I’ll be free to choose my own path in life. In the meantime, all I can do is gather what knowledge I’m able.”

 

"And you would like to add two languages you will never, ever use to your repertoire?"

 

Seba moved to lean on the stall, out of the way of the street traffic. "I love languages and I love learning. They don't have to be useful."

 

Letting out a long sigh, Sam went and stood behind Kias, wrapping his arms around him. He was really going to regret indulging Seba as much as he was. "Seba wants to learn your language," Sam murmured into Kias' ear.

 

Kias relaxed back into Sam's arms. "As well as yours?"

 

"Uh huh." Kias' hair smelled of soap.

 

Kias caught one of Sam's hands and played with the fingers. "Do you want me to teach him?"

 

"That's up to you."

 

"I will, then." Kias lifted Sam's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Don't forget to ask him about the oil."

 

Sam released Kias and when Kias turned around to look at him, made a face at him. "All right, I will. Later."

 

It turned out that Kias' method of teaching language mostly consisted of pointing at things and saying their names, something Sam questioned the effectiveness of. Did Seba really need to know how to say apple, cup, and vase before he even knew the basics? They seemed happy, though, so Sam left them to it.

 

Sam focussed his energy on looking for items of cultural or artistic significance to bring back with them. He found costumes designed for an upcoming festival, a finely carved flute, a large tapestry, and a small ceremonial dagger. Seba had insisted on carrying as much of their purchases as he was able to, but Sam estimated that if they split their purchases between only he and Kias, they were at about maximum capacity. Sam sighed. Timed to ask Seba about the oil.

 

Sam cleared his throat, drawing Seba's attention away from Kias' lesson on how to say 'candle'. Sam was having a really tough time trying to stay in character, and since having some level of dignity was in this instance what would be in character, Sam was pretty keen to succeed.

 

"Yes?" Seba asked in a voice that was infuriatingly sweet and attentive.

 

Sam didn't know what to do with his arms, so he folded them across his chest, almost certainly just making himself look more defensive. "Do you know where we can buy some oil?"

 

Seba's head tilted to the side, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Sam wasn't sure if he was responding to the question, or the odd behaviour Sam had displayed while asking it. "What kind of oil?"

 

Kias was biting his lip to keep from laughing, obviously having figured out the topic of conversation from the way Sam was acting. Sam shot him a look of annoyance.

 

"Whichever is the slickest and the most gentle on skin," Sam finally settled on. Just the right level of vague.

 

Seba gave Sam an impassive look. "There's a shop just down the road that sells some that should meet your needs."

 

"Thanks," Sam murmured, following as Seba turned to lead the way. Kias was still muffling laughter with his hand, so Sam showed him his middle finger, not particularly caring that Kias wouldn’t know what that meant.

 

"Here." Seba held the door to the store open so they could go inside, then followed after them. "Mostly it depends how much you're willing to spend and where you're planning on putting it."

 

"I think you know where I'm planning on putting it," Sam grumbled.

 

"Right!" Seba said with a cheery smile. "Price then. They make a really nice refined oil here, but it's a bit pricey. For about half the price you can get twice as much of another suitable kind which will do the job just fine. It depends on your priorities."

 

"I just spent a ridiculous amount of money on a tapestry of a man fighting a pack of wolves with his bare hands." Which, Sam had to admit, was awesome. "Where do you think my priorities lay?"

 

Seba shrugged. "It's not my job to make assumptions."

 

"No, that's generally given as a free bonus," Sam said with a grin, then turned to the shopkeeper who had been waiting impatiently. "One bottle of whatever the kid says, please."

 

Sam eyed the bottle dubiously as they headed out of the store. He hadn't asked the shopkeeper about it at all, and so Seba's word was the only guarantee he had that this oil wouldn't burn his dick or whatever else he chose to put it on.

 

"Okay, Kias and I have something we must attend to for a while," Sam said, taking the bundled up costumes from Seba and indicating for Kias to relieve Seba of the rest of his load. "Do you need us to walk you back to the inn?"

 

"No," Seba said firmly, sounding somewhat offended at the suggestion that he might. "Don't you need my help? Where are you going?"

 

Sam gave Seba a tight lipped smile. "No, that's all the help we need from you today. Thank you."

 

"Wait," Seba said as Sam began to turn around. "Will you give me some words before you leave, please?"

 

So Sam taught Seba how to introduce himself.

 

#

 

Kias' arms were starting to hurt from carrying all the things they'd bought and his legs ached from all the walking by the time they neared the city gates. He was sadly out of shape. It felt good to finally be getting some exercise, though. Kias hated feeling weak.

 

"He's a very fast learner," Kias told Sam as they made their way down the main road at a leisurely pace. "If I had his skill and enthusiasm, I'd be able to speak your language fluently by now."

 

"He does seem particularly bright for his age," Sam admitted. "It's a pity."

 

Sam smiled and said something polite to the guards, but Kias could still feel the guards' gaze follow them as they passed through the gates, arms laden with items. Only the very poorest of people would actually travel on foot while carrying things, and he and Sam were clearly not poor. Kias felt a lot better once they'd slipped into the trees next to the road, hiding them from sight.

 

Kias followed Sam deeper into the woods, stumbling and almost dropping his load a couple of times.

 

They walked through the woods for several minutes before reaching a large clearing in the trees. Sam stopped and held a hand up to indicate for Kias to stay where he was. After fiddling with the ring on his finger for a few seconds, Sam crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

 

With no warning, Sam's shuttle appeared before them. Kias jumped back in surprise, actually dropping the items he was carrying this time. At least none of it were fragile; Sam had the glass bottle filled with oil. When Sam laughed at him, Kias glared.

 

The shuttle was the same as ever, all dimly lit and filled with little flashy lights. It was warmer inside the shuttle than out and it hummed softly all around Kias. Sam shut the door behind them and unloaded the things he'd been carrying onto a convenient surface. Sam then reached up and pulled open a little door right near the ceiling of the shuttle and started stashing the items they’d bought away. He left the oil out. Kias eyed it contemplatively while he handed Sam the things he'd carried.

 

"So, how are you holding up?" Sam asked as he shoved the last of the items into the cupboard thing, closing the door.

 

Kias shrugged. "I'm fine. Mostly good."

 

Sam leant back against the wall of the shuttle. "Mostly?"

 

"Some things are sad. If there are no sad things, you're probably just not looking hard enough." Kias had averted his eyes, but he looked at Sam now. "But things are mostly good with me right now."

 

Sam gave him a strained smile. "You've made everything hurt more, Kias. Because it should."

 

Kias quirked his head to the side, taking a step closer to Sam. "Perhaps I should be the one asking you how you're holding up."

 

"I'm fine," Sam said. "Just, you know... what you said. It's sad. It was always sad and I knew that and I felt that, but... I wasn't looking hard enough."

 

Kias walked the remaining few steps to reach Sam and leant in close to him, one hand on either side of Sam's body. "You're doing okay, Sam. You're doing just fine."

 

Sam let out a long sigh and pressed his body forward slightly against Kias', bridging the small gap Kias had left between them. Kias smiled and wrapped his arms around Sam, more a hug than anything else. Sam immediately returned the embrace, and they stayed like that, pressed together unmoving against the wall, for several minutes.

 

"You know, there's a bed in here," Sam said conversationally around the time Kias' fingers were beginning to get numb from his wrists being pinned to the wall behind Sam.

 

"I must not be paying much attention, because I seem to have overlooked the bed you claim to be in this fairly small room." Kias flexed his fingers, trying to restore circulation.

 

Sam chuckled and carefully pried Kias off, then took a couple of steps to his right, reached up and took hold of something on the wall, pulled down, and suddenly there was a bed. It had been stored by folding it up into the wall. How odd.

 

"It's a bit small," Sam pointed out, and yeah, it was. Either one of them could probably sleep in it alone well enough, but it was most definitely not a two person bed. Still, Kias was pretty sure he had some ideas as to how two people could make use of it... It was a soft surface and it seemed to be coated in something non-absorbent.

 

Yeah, Kias had some ideas.

 

#

 

Sam hadn't been sure about the bed thing, but the way Kias looked at him suggested he really did not disapprove.

 

"Well, just let me know what you want," Sam said, sitting down on the bed. "Or don't want."

 

Apparently that was all the invitation Kias needed, because he was on Sam immediately. Kias' sexual aggression was unexpected, but Sam wasn't about to complain. Kias' knee pressed against Sam's crotch and Kias' lips moved with Sam's.

 

They had to momentarily take their hands off of each other to remove their own clothes so none of the delicate fabric got torn. Sam was eternally grateful for the simple lace up shoes that were fashionable here, being much quicker to remove than boots. Kias looked about ready to tear his pants out of spite, the tight fabric clinging to his legs and refusing speedy removal.

 

Sam sat naked on the bed, watching Kias watch him. The look Kias gave Sam was predatory. Kias turned, giving Sam an amazing view of his ass, and went to get the oil from where Sam had left it next to the console. Sam swallowed thickly as Kias headed back towards him, oil in hand.

 

The feeling of being prey was almost entirely dashed out when Kias, upon reaching Sam and placing the oil beside the bed, leant down over Sam where he sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around him. Kias rubbed his nose against Sam's neck, then kissed it affectionately.

 

Sam chuckled. "Hi."

 

Sam shuffled back slightly, giving Kias room to move on top of him. Skin against skin, weight and warmth. Kias felt good. Sam splayed his palm against the back of Kias' hip, fingertips brushing Kias' spine. Kias pulled away from Sam's neck and grinned down at him. "What if I make a mess with this oil?"

 

"Then we clean it up after, I suppose."

 

"Okay." Kias reached over and retrieved the bottle of oil, pulling the cork out with his teeth and setting it aside. "'Cause I'm gonna make a lot of mess..."

 

Kias poured a generous dollop of oil just below Sam's navel, then used his fingers to swirl it around. The oil wasn't warm or cold, but the slick pressure made Sam's muscles twitch. It felt good because it was Kias' fingers, and Sam watching them. It felt good in a way that could almost have been non-sexual, at least until Kias — glancing back and forth from Sam's face to Sam's cock — slowly moved his hand to rub oil over him. Kias' fingers on Sam's cock were sure, unhesitant. Sam's hips rolled, reflexive, and Sam saw Kias' mouth curve from its concentrated line into an answering smile. Kias added an extra dribble of oil directly to Sam's cock and stroked. Sam watched through hooded eyes.

 

"Um, I have an idea." Kias tapped his fingers against Sam's thigh, a compulsive nervous behaviour Sam had seen him displaying sometimes. Usually not on Sam's thighs, though.

 

"What's your idea?" Sam took hold of the fingers tapping nervous rhythms on his skin and squeezed them reassuringly.

 

"Like, uh... hmm." Kias sat back and pushed Sam's knees up. "No," Kias said when Sam automatically spread his thighs, and pressed them back together. "Like this. Can I?"

 

It wasn't until Sam felt the press of something hot and hard against the dip between his thighs that he understood what was being asked. This was new. Kias twitched against him, and Sam licked his lips. For a blazing second he imagined what it would be like, to be moved against and into like that. "Yeah, that's fine."

 

Permission granted, Kias poured oil into his cupped palm and slicked himself, then the insides of Sam's thighs. Sam took hold of his own cock and slowly pumped it, feeling pleasantly warm and slightly dizzy with pleasure. Kias' fingers slipped over his balls and the base of his cock as Kias spread the oil. Sam felt his head tip back, and he blinked upward for a second as he took in the sensation. Kias slowly pushed himself between the tight press of Sam's thighs, letting out a ragged breath, and Sam put his free palm against the side of Kias' neck, soothing Kias, feeling the accelerated pace of his heart.

 

With each thrust, Kias' cock pressed against Sam's balls and rubbed along the base of Sam's shaft, sending electric thrills through Sam's body. Kias had his eyes squeezed shut and was chewing on his lip, intensely focussed on his movements and the sensations they elicited.

 

Sam watched Kias, the way his muscles tensed, how his face contorted. Sam pulled on his cock with one hand, unconsciously matching Kias' pace, and with the other hand felt the ball of Kias' shoulder, his flexing bicep, back to his neck, tracing Kias' muscles. Already Kias had begun to sheen with effort, his skin all over flushing with arousal. His breaths fell into a panting rhythm, a steady _uhh uhh_. They were so close that Sam could feel Kias get more and more worked up.

 

Kias cracked open his eyes to look at Sam. Sam arched his back and squeezed his thighs together tighter. Kias made an incoherent sound of pleasure and his next thrust was harder. With his free hand, Sam ran his fingers slowly across his own chest, circling a nipple as Kias watched. Kias growled, his hips jerking quickly. Sensing Kias was reaching his climax, Sam increased the speed of his hand on his cock, abandoning his slow and steady method.

 

"Sam," Kias exhaled, breathy. "Can I..." He hesitated. Sam made an encouraging noise. "Can I finish inside you?"

 

Sam blinked. He wasn't physically prepped for it, but Kias wouldn't hurt him. "Yeah, okay," he said, and ran his hand across the back of Kias' neck, stroking his shoulders. "All right."

 

It was a shaky and rushed process, Kias pulling away, pouring more oil onto his cock and the general area involved. Sam spread his thighs, pulling his knees back to his chest.

 

He had expected it to be uncomfortable, and it was, but Kias thrust in slowly and Sam was relaxed and ready, if not otherwise prepared. Usually he would have expected the courtesy of a minute or two of slow going before things started getting rough, but they were too far gone for that.

 

Kias stopped for a second after his first couple of thrusts, and the look of intense concentration on his face showed Sam it wasn't easy for him to hold still. "Okay?" Kias asked, voice slightly hoarse.

 

"Yeah," Sam said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Go."

 

Sam hadn't done this in months, but his body remembered it. He knew it would feel good, soon, friction and pressure against the sensitive parts in him that had gone untouched. His erection had flagged somewhat from the discomfort of entry, but Sam stroked himself as Kias started to move again and it came back real fast.

 

It didn't last long. When Kias had asked if he could finish inside Sam, he'd meant _finish_. Kias let out a harsh gasp as he thrust in deep, his fingers gripping Sam’s hips with bruising force as his whole body tensed. Sam increased the speed of his hand on his cock but the shock of penetration had knocked his arousal back, and he'd only just gotten himself worked back up to where he'd been before. He wasn't going to be following Kias over the edge just yet.

 

Kias stared down at Sam, panting, satiated. When he slowly rocked his hips back, Sam assumed he was pulling out, but then Kias thrust forward again. Kias continued that pace, slow and at just the right angle, rubbing the palms of his hands up and down Sam's thighs. The pressure was good, inside and out. Sam's mouth dropped open and his eyes slid half-shut, hand moving faster over his erection.

 

As Sam brought himself over the edge, tight pleasure burning through his body, he felt Kias bury himself deep as Sam's body clenched around him. Afterwards, when Sam was finished adding his own fluids to the sticky, oily mess covering himself, Kias slowly pulled out.

 

Kias crawled onto the bed with Sam, which required a lot of close snuggling because it was barely even big enough for one. In the end, Kias was pressed tight against Sam's side, his head on Sam's shoulder, barely keeping from falling off the edge of the bed. They stuck together awkwardly where they touched, both covered in a light layer of sweat. Sam felt his pulse slowly calm, though he continued to pant. Kias' breathing was a little fast, too, and they came down together from their high.

 

"Was that okay?" Kias whispered after a while. He traced lines with his finger in the oil and goop on Sam's stomach.

 

Sam let out a satisfied sigh and shut his eyes, enjoying the calm. "That was fantastic."

 

He heard Kias snicker quietly beside him. "Now even I think we'll need a bath. Do you have one of those hidden in here as well?"

 

"I did ask for one," Sam admitted. "But apparently showers and toilets are luxury facilities that aren't actually required. The outside world has to fulfil those needs."

 

Kias sat up and stretched, narrowly avoiding falling off the bed. "Do you at least have a cloth to wipe off with?"

 

"Mm, yeah." Sam pointed a lazy finger in the direction of one of the overhead storage compartments. "Should be a bunch of towels in there. Get down three, but only use one to clean us off."

 

"Why three if we're only using one?" Kias asked as he pulled a stack of towels down, taking one and tossing two more on the floor.

 

"We'll use the others later." Sam let Kias wipe the dry towel over his body, cleaning up the worst of the mess but still leaving him feeling sticky and smelling of sex.

 

As soon as he was clean enough not to start dripping all over the shuttle the moment he was upright, Sam stood and headed over to the console, pressing a few buttons to bring up the navigation.

 

"What are you doing?" Kias asked, coming up to stand beside Sam and leaning heavily against his shoulder.

 

"Finding the closest natural clean water that doesn't have any human life signs close to it." Sam adjusted the parameters and smiled when the shuttle interface showed him what he'd been looking for. "Found it."

 

Sam didn't particularly want to get their naked, oily asses all over the shuttle's nice clean chairs, so they stood while Sam navigated the shuttle slowly and smoothly towards their destination. It was a little over ten minutes of pleasant countryside views before they reached the location Sam had detected, a small, clear, fast flowing river. He then found a clearing large enough to fit the shuttle and landed it.

 

Kias peeked out the door at the rocks sloping down to the river. "This is actually much nicer than a shower crammed into the shuttle."

 

Sam retrieved a bottle of liquid soap then headed over to Kias, slapping him on the ass to get him moving out of the shuttle. "It's nice because it's a warm day. Not so much when you desperately need to bathe and the only water available has a thin crusting of ice forming on it."

 

They scrambled down the gentle rocky slope to the river's edge and Sam swished his foot in the water. "I had to fill a container with water and take it back to the shuttle for a sponge bath. Not my favourite world."

 

Kias was already knee deep in the sluggishly flowing water, grinning back at Sam, so Sam left the towels and the soap on the rocks next to the river and followed him in.

 

The water was pleasantly warm and almost perfectly clear, the bottom still visible even at its maximum depth where it reached Sam's waist. Kias spotted small fish in the water and tried to catch them in his cupped hands, but they were much too fast for him. Sam wondered what Kias would even do with one if he caught it.

 

Stepping up behind Kias, Sam wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close, resting his chin on Kias' shoulder. The water and the nudity combined to create a delicious slide of skin on skin. "Hey."

 

Kias slipped his hands behind the both of them to run them over Sam's ass under the water. "I think your butt's still oily."

 

Sam chuckled as Kias slid his hands back and forth. "I'll clean off with the soap in a bit."

 

"I know," Kias said with a laugh. His fingers slipped teasingly along the crevice of Sam's ass. "It's just fun."

 

The enjoyment Sam was receiving from his groping was abruptly interrupted when Kias announced he'd seen an eel and splashed off into the water. He'd shown this boy spaceships, but somehow simple aquatic life interested Kias more. Sam smiled and shook his head at Kias and went to get the soap.

 

#

 

There were actual fish living in the river, and that fascinated Kias. He'd seen fish before, but they'd been dead fish caught by fishermen and brought to be sold in town. There had been a canal running through the city Kias had lived in, and he had always liked to pretend that there were fish living in there. There weren't, of course; the whole thing was so polluted that drinking the water would almost certainly kill you. That hadn't stopped Kias from making a toy fishing rod out of a stick and a piece of string and pretending, though.

 

Sam was standing near the shore, rubbing liquid soap into his skin. It was insane to Kias what they'd just done in the shuttle — what Sam had allowed him to do. Where Kias was from, rules of play were generally dictated by pretty firm boundaries, and by all of those rules Kias ought to have been in the submissive role. Though Kias had never considered himself a firm follower of such pointless social rules, he'd never truly defied them.

 

Of course, there were other reasons for that. He was a scrawny eighteen year old with no status, so of course all those paying to see him had trumped him on all of those power factors, and of course they'd been the dominant ones. Among the other boys he had been the oldest, and though he’d willingly been on the receiving end before he'd never taken a submissive role to any of them. He’d felt more comfortable dominating and they’d expected and wanted it from him, so there'd never really been any question.

 

But Sam... he'd accepted it so easily and graciously that it had Kias wondering how things were generally done in Sam's culture.

 

Sam waded deeper into the water and splashed himself down, washing all the soap suds off.

 

"Sam..." Kias said slowly, cautiously. "Are you okay with... with the things we did before? What I did?"

 

Sam sat down in the shallow water near the river's edge and looked up at Kias curiously. "Yes. Are you?"

 

"Yes, I liked it," Kias insisted. "But we can do things differently next time if you want." Kias ran his toes through the pebbles that made up the river bed. "I don't think I can have you on top of me, but you could be... you could be inside me, instead, if I was on top."

 

Sam's brow furrowed. "We can do that if you prefer. As long as it won't hurt you, anyway."

 

"But would _you_ prefer it?" Kias asked. "What do you want?"

 

Sam walked over to Kias and wrapped damp arms around him in a reassuring embrace. "I want to feel good and I want you to feel good. I want to have some fun and I don't want anyone to get hurt or feel scared. What do you want?"

 

"Yeah," Kias mumbled into Sam's shoulder. "Those things."

 

"Good." Sam gave Kias a couple of firm pats on the back before pulling away. "Come and let me wash you off."

 


	15. Chapter 15

Sam landed the shuttle a good distance away from the city walls, allowing them a nice long stroll back. Sam felt calm and serene as they made their way through the sparse woods. He knew it couldn't last, of course; assignments, as a rule, did not end calmly. Getting laid, having a swim in a beautiful river, and just having Kias along with him for company had him feeling more relaxed than he could remember being in a long time, though.

 

It was nearing dinner time by the time they got back and they'd only had a small lunch, but Kias was exhausted and this time sleep won out. They'd only gone upstairs for a moment so that they could put the oil away and Sam could change his shoes before they ate. By the time he'd removed his shoes, found his other pair, and put them on, he'd turned around to find Kias curled up on the bed, asleep.

 

Sam chuckled and smiled fondly at Kias' sleeping form. In sleep, he looked as vulnerable as he had when they’d first met. Just a boy on the verge of manhood.

 

Sam gently tugged Kias’ shoes off, careful not to wake him. Such physical exertion wasn't something Kias was used to, Sam had to remind himself. Sam really ought to have made a greater effort to get Kias in shape before taking him on this assignment, but they really hadn't had much preparation time. At least he wasn't so skinny that hugging him meant risking getting stabbed by his unreasonably sharp and insufficiently padded bones anymore.

 

Kias would be hungry when he woke up, though, and Sam was already plenty hungry right then, so he decided to go down and get some food and bring it back up. It would probably be a better idea anyway. Even if Kias woke up he would be tired, and it would be easier on him if he didn't have to go downstairs and get into his role again. Sam lowered the lantern's light and left the room.

 

There was nobody in the lounge area when Sam passed through, giving him hope that it was too early for Kalem to be down yet. His hope was dashed when he opened the door to the tavern and his eyes immediately fell on Kalem where he sat at a table not far from the door. Seba was with him.

 

Sam genuinely considered just turning around and heading back up to their room, perhaps taking a nap with Kias and trying again later. But that would have been cowardly, and besides, Seba had already spotted him. Seba watched impassively as Sam lingered in the doorway until finally Sam let out a long sigh and headed into the tavern.

 

Keeping his eyes straight ahead, Sam entered the tavern, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. Last he'd seen, Kalem had had his chair turned to speak with a man at a nearby table. It was too much to hope for, though. He was a few steps away from the bar when he heard Kalem's voice. "Samuel!"

 

Sam paused in his approach to the bar and grit his teeth before forcing a polite smile onto his face and turning around. "Kalem."

 

"Sit with me a while?" Kalem was clearly less inebriated than he'd been the previous night, probably because it was still quite early, but Sam suspected it wouldn't make him much less of an asshole.

 

Sam considered declining, and likely would have if he wasn't still interested in using the guy's servant as a guide. "For a while. I have to bring Kias his dinner soon."

 

Kalem laughed, gesturing for Sam to sit next to him. "Shouldn't he be the one fetching you food?"

 

"He's quite tired," Sam said simply, claiming the seat.

 

Kalem made a soft hum of acknowledgement. "And how was my boy today? Did he do well?"

 

"Yes. He's a very bright boy. You should be proud."

 

Kalem chuckled and reached across the table to give Seba an affectionate pat on the cheek. "He is that. Above being smart enough not to cross me, though, his intelligence does not serve me."

 

"That's a shame." Sam stole one of the bread rolls off their table and bit into it. How long was long enough to be polite, but not so long that Kalem would think they were on their way towards friendship?

 

"Will you have use for him again?" Kalem inquired.

 

"If you don't mind, I could use his help tomorrow."

 

"Certainly." Kalem gave Sam a broad smile. "Shall I make sure he's available to you immediately after breakfast?"

 

Sam affirmed that yes, after breakfast was a good time, and then managed to excuse himself and get his and Kias' food without further incident. Sam was surprised that Kalem hadn't attempted to invite himself along to any of their activities seeing as he was clearly eager to make friends with Sam.

 

Sam gave Seba a sad smile and a pat on the back as he walked past. He was pretty sure Seba returned his smile, just for a moment, but then Kalem glanced over and Seba’s mask of indifference fell back into place.

 

#

 

A click-thump sound stirred Kias' mind into slow consciousness, and he automatically feigned sleep while he tried to figure the situation out. Kias didn't remember falling asleep. He didn't remember where he was. He wanted to open his eyes and find out, but he didn't want whoever was in the room with him to know he was awake. The guy didn't sound huge, but he was certainly too big to be one of the other boys.

 

The bed Kias lay in definitely wasn't his own. His own bed was lumpy and had scratchy covers and smelled bad. This bed was evenly cushioned and had soft, clean covers. But... there wasn't anywhere in the house like that. Even the warden's bed was nowhere near this nice.

 

Well, Kias wasn't getting anywhere faking sleep and trying to think things out. Whatever the situation was, he would have to deal with it eventually. Kias gathered his courage and opened his eyes as he pushed himself up.

 

There was a moment of blinding confusion and then sudden, complete recollection. Of course he was in their room at the inn. Of course the man in front of him was Sam. Of course.

 

Sam had given Kias a smile when he sat up, but it was slowly fading now, replaced with a look of concern. "You okay?"

 

Kias realised that his chest ached, and then a moment later that it ached because he was heaving in rapid breaths.

 

Sam put the tray he was carrying down on the small table in the corner of the room and approached the bed. "Bad dream?"

 

Kias did his best to slow his breathing and calm the racing of his heart. "...Yeah."

 

Sam returned to the tray and poured Kias a cup of water before heading for the bed again. He handed the cup to Kias, making sure Kias had a firm grip on it before letting go. Barely contained and completely irrational panic fought against the idea of swallowing anything just then, but Kias forced himself to drink the water. Afterwards, he felt a little better. Sam sat down next to Kias on the bed and then gently directed him to lean back against his chest.

 

"You fell asleep up here," Sam said, weaving soothing fingers through Kias' hair. "We came up to put the oil away before dinner, and you lay down and went to sleep. We've been out all day buying souvenirs and swimming in rivers and partaking in other exhausting activities, so you were very tired. I decided to let you sleep, and went down and got dinner for us."

 

Sam's voice grounded Kias, firmly reminding him what was here and now and what was in the past, dead. Kias made a small sound in the back of his throat and pressed his face against Sam's hand. He felt ashamed for reacting the way he had and scared by just how far reality had escaped him.

 

He wanted to apologise to Sam for behaving so pathetically, but he was worried that would just make himself look even weaker. Talking to Kias gently all the while, Sam went back over to the table and got the tray of food. What disgusted Kias most was that the gentle treatment Sam was giving him was actually making him feel better.

 

Sam broke off a piece of bread and a piece of cheese and handed them to Kias. "I spoke to Kalem. He said we can borrow Seba again tomorrow."

 

Kias finished chewing his food. "What's the catch?"

 

Sam picked up a grape and held it out for Kias to eat from his fingers, smiling when Kias complied. "No apparent catch."

 

"There's always a catch."

 

"Yes, I know." Sam popped a grape into his own mouth, chewed, swallowed. "And I prefer the overt ones. But you get what you get."

 

Kias gave a hum of acknowledgement around the piece of meat he was eating. Though he didn't trust Kalem's motivations for allowing it, he was glad Seba would be coming with them again. It was very sad that Seba would have to die soon, but Kias would be happy if they could at least minimise Seba's time with Kalem in the meantime. Kias suspected Sam's reasons for keeping Seba around were somewhat more pragmatic, but that was okay. One of them had to put practicalities above emotion.

 

After they were done eating, Sam instructed Kias to undress and tucked him into bed. Kias wanted Sam to come to bed with him, to snuggle down with him and keep him safe and warm. Instead, Sam kissed Kias on the forehead before retrieving his book and pen from inside his coat and taking the lamp to the table in the corner. "Goodnight, Kias."

 

"G'night Sam."

 

#

  
  


The next morning Sam woke to the feeling of lips pressing slow kisses to the side of his neck followed by the gentle nip of teeth. Sam reached out a hand and buried fingers in Kias' long, wavy hair.

 

"Good morning," Kias mumbled against Sam's neck.

 

Sam stroked his fingers through Kias' hair and then out along Kias' smooth, naked back. "Very good morning."

 

Kias squirmed under Sam’s touch and bit down on Sam's neck, then licked the spot he'd bitten. The ache left behind wasn’t quite painful and went straight to Sam’s dick.

 

"I ate the leftover food from last night. There wasn't much of it." Kias nipped at Sam's neck again.

 

"Ah." Sam unconsciously tipped his head to give Kias better access. "And if I don't feed you soon, I'll be for breakfast?"

 

"Uh huh,” Kias said, his breath tickling Sam’s ear as he tasted its lobe.

 

Sam wasn't sure he'd mind that so much, but he hauled himself up anyway, letting out a groan as he stretched his arms out.

 

"You're not going to make us bathe again, are you?" Kias asked after Sam had reluctantly shoved him off and started to get out of bed.

 

"It's been less than a day and we've hardly done anything but sleep during that time," Sam pointed out as he stood and retrieved his scattered clothing from the floor. "I'm not quite that excessive."

 

"If you say so," Kias said as he pulled on the shirt Sam tossed him and began doing up the buttons. "If we were on your world right now, I bet you would have."

 

Sam pulled his pants on. "Maybe." Sam glanced around the room before locating his shirt, which had somehow ended up under the table. "But I can take a shower in ten minutes there, and I can do it without the risk of underage boys walking in while I do it."

 

Kias snickered as he tied the string on his pants. "I don't know how he respects you at all after that display in the baths. If you can't even look someone in the eye when they're naked, you shouldn't get to hold any authority over them."

 

Sam lobbed one of Kias' shoes at him, the light leather acting as a rather ineffective tool for violence as it bounced harmlessly off of Kias' chest. "I didn't want him to think I was checking him out."

 

Kias sat down on the bed to pull his shoes on. "In future, it might be better to just keep your eyes on his face. If you act like there's something really wrong with even glancing in his direction when he's naked, he's going to wonder what it is. Your real reasons aren't something he's likely to decipher."

 

Sam slapped Kias on the back on the head on his way to the door. "Stop being so wise."

 

"Feel free to take over any time."

 

Sam opened his mouth to respond, then slowly closed it again when he opened the door to find Seba waiting outside. Seba was sitting alone in the hallway, back against the wall across from the door to Sam and Kias' room. His expression was unreadable and he looked tired, but he appeared to be dressed and ready to go. Sam wondered just how long Seba had been there.

 

"You're not terribly good at this 'after breakfast' thing, are you?" Sam asked, because being in character and annoyed was easier than just being sad for the kid.

 

Chewing his lip anxiously, Seba stood. "I’ll wait outside the inn if you prefer."

 

Sam let out another sigh, long and tired. "Have you eaten yet?"

 

Shaking his head, Seba murmured, "No."

 

Sam forced a smile. "I suppose you had best eat with us, then. We have a busy day ahead of us and I won't have you slowing us down because you haven't eaten."

 

Seba nodded quickly, biting back a smile that threatened to curve his lips. Sam was pretty sure Seba saw right through his act.

 

#

 

At Sam's request Seba was showing them around religious landmarks, something he seemed to know a lot about. Not that Kias understood a word Seba was saying, but he was talking to Sam a lot and pointing at things, so that was the sense of things Kias got.

 

Kias, on the other hand, was left to figure things out based on what he could see for himself.

 

Based on the number of uniquely decorated shrines, it looked like these people only worshipped a small number of deities, at least at this location. Kias counted eight. Where Kias was from, they'd had far more; more than Kias could name, and likely more than he even knew about. His mother had been a seamstress and had made food sacrifices to a goddess who watched over those of her profession. In the end, his mother's seamstress goddess hadn't watched over her very well at all.

 

Around here coins were left out in dishes in front of the shrines, which Kias surmised was either as a sacrifice to the deities or as donations for upkeep of the shrines. Whatever the reason, Kias couldn't figure out how they kept people from stealing the money. Kias found himself tempted to take it even though he had no need of it. He'd grown up as a thief by necessity, and seeing money left unguarded made his palms itch.

 

Perhaps it was simply that people respected or feared deities here. Kias had never been devout himself, but he’d known others who had been. The closest Kias had ever come to being religious was when the priest at the temple for the god of the destitute started giving out food to the homeless kids. For a while, Kias even would have said that was his god, though he supposed if at any point the food had stopped coming, he would have too.

 

It all ended rather abruptly when some men had come offering jobs to the homeless kids. Kias had said no. Kias never did find out if the priest had invited those men into the temple. He hoped not. He'd liked the old priest. The priest had been exactly the kind of man who would think those men had really come to help Kias and the other kids as they’d claimed. It had likely not been long after that that the priest had run out of people to feed. Any homeless people left on the streets were too deep in hiding to enter the temple.

 

So Kias was tempted to steal the money, but didn't.

 

#

 

Sam spun the tiny dial on his ring to the right angle and pressed in two of the buttons disguised as jewels that ran along the outside of the far larger central jewel. The underside of the gaudy ring sent a slight fizzle of electricity through Sam's finger, indicating it was on the right setting. Now Sam could use it to discreetly take pictures. He would just look like he was playing with his ring.

 

The craftsmanship on the statues and carvings which made up the shrines were really quite spectacular, and someone had gone to the effort of cultivating flowers to grow around the two shrines which sat outside. Those two, Seba had informed him, were the god of flora and the goddess of the earth. There were some pretty heavy fertilisation concepts going on there. According to Seba, religious art for those two was some of the most pornographic stuff he'd ever seen.

 

"Do you worship any deities?" Sam asked Seba while they looked at a shrine decorated with a rather savage looking lion's head. Did they even have lions around here?

 

"Not any of these," Seba said. "I'm not from here. My people don't worship deities so much as we do elements. And we don't really worship... we just respect."

 

Sam nodded slowly. He'd have to remember to write that down later. Wherever Seba was from wasn't the society Sam was studying, but there was no reason he couldn't put it in his report anyway.

 

"May I have another sentence, please?" Seba asked after a pause.

 

Sam discreetly took a picture of Seba looking all politely eager, then instantly regretted it. He'd have to sort through those and label them later. Later, when Seba would be dead. "Hmm, I don't know. Can you remember the last one I taught you?"

 

"How are you? I am good, thank you," Seba replied in Sam's language without hesitation, as Sam had known he would. His recall when it came to languages was phenomenal.

 

"Good." Sam snuck a picture of a tapestry on one of the walls. "But before I give you any more language lessons, perhaps you'd like to tell me what you told Kalem that's made him so very willing to let me borrow you without question or price."

 

If Sam hadn't been watching Seba carefully, he would have missed the subtle tensing of his shoulders and the way everything about him became stiffer, more restrained. Yes, Sam was right. There was something Seba had neglected to tell him.

 

Seba wasn't meeting Sam's eyes, and his lips twisted together as though he was balancing up his options. Eventually he shrugged, a surrender. "I told him you might be interested in buying me. Not that you _would_ , just... you _might_. So if you don't, well, there were never any guarantees."

 

" _If_ I don't?" Sam asked. "I think we can be pretty damn well certain I will not."

 

Kias had appeared beside Sam, a concerned frown on his face as he looked between him and Seba. Sam cooled his annoyance enough to give him a reassuring smile.

 

"Well, no, I didn't think you would... _probably_." Seba was watching his fingers as they fiddled with the cuff of his shirt. "I could be useful to you, though. You said you travel quite a bit and I'm very good with languages."

 

"I'm sorry," Sam said, and he really, really was. "If it were up to me, I probably would take you with me. My father was rather displeased when I brought Kias home, though, and if I came back with someone else... I'd never be allowed off on my own again."

 

Sam was rather surprised by how honest he was being, even if he was substituting a few facts and making it sound a bit weird. It was essentially the truth.

 

"Oh," Seba said carefully.

 

"How much longer are you with Kalem for? These arrangements don't last forever."

 

Seba sighed. "It's supposed to be until I'm sixteen, and then he is _supposed_ to give me some money and find me somewhere to stay. But... he won't."

 

"Why won't he?" Sam asked. He really wasn't too sure if there were actual laws about these things, or if it was merely custom.

 

"He won't be able to afford it." Seba went and sat on a low stone bench next to one of the shrines. "He has only what's left over from his inheritance right now, and he's fast drinking his way through that. I'll sooner be turned into a source of income than receive any of his money."

 

Sam took a moment to process what Seba was telling him. "...Ah." Of course, although the thought of Kalem using Seba to make money was a terrible one, it would likely not come to pass. Or, if it did, not for very long. Because of death related reasons. Which really, really was not better, but it was something Sam couldn't do a thing about. Well, unless he just took Seba with them, but that wasn't going to happen. Not again.

 

"I'll make sure he doesn't do that," Sam told Seba instead. "If he looks to be planning to, you tell me about it and I'll take care of it, okay?"

 

Sam felt like a dick as Seba nodded gratefully. Yeah, what a great guy he was, shielding some kid from harm on an extremely temporary basis until he was slaughtered horribly by drones. It was a lot harder to feel grateful towards Kias for teaching him how to connect with all kinds of people when this was the result.

 

#

 

After they'd finished exploring the religious side of this society and gotten lunch, Sam had taken them back to the inn, citing a need for a break before continuing the rest of their day.

 

He'd seemed rather sad, Kias thought, since having a discussion with Seba, though Sam hadn't yet told Kias what it had been about. Kias could think of plenty of sad things Seba could have told Sam to get him down, though. Sam wasn't immune to sad things, he was just very good at avoiding them.

 

They were on the bed, fully clothed, with Sam lying on his back and Kias flopped half on top of him. Kias nipped at Sam's ear, eliciting a small sound from him, but otherwise no response. So he tried licking instead.

 

"Hey!" Sam said, shoving at Kias' shoulder with one hand, but there was amusement in his voice. Kias sucked the lobe of Sam's ear into his mouth, wet and slobbery.

 

Sam laughed and squirmed away, shoving Kias away more firmly. Kias pushed back, struggling against Sam to get Sam pinned back down, at his mercy. But Sam was bigger than him and stronger than him and it only took a moment for Sam to roll them over, reversing their positions and pinning Kias under himself.

 

Hands moved to Kias' wrists, pinning them down loosely, the weight of the body above Kias pushing him down into the mattress. No. Kias froze, an instinct he'd learnt for self preservation, and clamped his eyes shut. Stay still. No. Stay quiet, don't fight. No, no... Everything smelt of filth and Kias knew if he opened his eyes, he'd see the wrinkly jowls of the blacksmith from down the street who liked Kias so much. The blacksmith always smelt of smoke and sweat.

 

Kias kept telling himself not to move, but the moment the blacksmith shifted, giving Kias the space he needed to shove him off, Kias took his opportunity.

 

But off wasn't enough. He was still bigger than Kias and still much too close. Kias wanted him to stay off. Kias wanted the man away from him. He lashed out.

 

Kias could fight very effectively when he wanted to, even now when he hadn't had much exercise in so long. When panicked, his fighting style reverted to something similar to that of a cat, all teeth and nails with a dash of fists, elbows, and knees for taste. It ended abruptly when the man toppled off the side of the bed, onto the floor.

 

The physical distance between them was enough to give Kias a moment to think. At first, the only thoughts that came to mind were of how deep the shit he was presently in was. He hadn't fought back in almost two years, and there were some fairly damn good reasons for that. But as he slowly pushed past those thoughts other thoughts began to creep in as well. Things weren't quite right. One of the buttons had come off of the shirt Kias was wearing in the struggle, and Kias stared down at it. This... wasn't his shirt. And then it was.

 

There was a flood of relief when Kias remembered where he was, who he was with. When he heard Sam groan from where he lay on the floor, dread rushed back to Kias so fast it nearly gave him vertigo. He felt like he was going to be sick.

 

Sam pushed himself up and hesitantly peered over the edge of the bed. "Kias?" There were scratch marks on his neck from Kias' fingernails, too superficial to cause bleeding but raising pink lines across Sam's skin. "You okay?"

 

After giving Sam a quick glance over to reassure himself that he hadn't injured him badly, Kias rolled over, bringing the blanket with him as he did and wrapping himself in it. His protective blanket cocoon shouldn't have been comforting. It should have just reminded him of all the times he'd wrapped himself up snugly to feel safe in the past. Somehow, though, it still helped.

 

"Kias," Sam said again, just as carefully, and Kias felt the edge of the bed dip behind him.

 

Kias curled tighter in on himself. He'd attacked Sam. Sam had made one little misstep, something that would have been perfectly normal for anyone else, and Kias had completely lost control. "Leave me alone."

 

There were several long moments of silence, and then, "Okay." Kias felt the bed shift again as Sam moved off of it. There were another few moments where Sam didn't move, just stood next to the bed. Kias had his back to Sam and his eyes squeezed shut, so he didn't know what Sam was up to.

 

"I'm sorry," Sam said eventually. Kias heard Sam's footsteps as he headed for the door, heard the door open, heard the door shut again. After that, he was alone in the room.

 

It only took Kias a couple of minutes to calm down enough that he wanted comfort rather than space, and exactly that amount of time to regret telling Sam to leave him alone. Of course Sam had listened. Sam was far better at listening to what he was being told directly than at decoding social nuance.

 

Slowly Kias unwrapped himself from the blankets, then sat up and examined his clothes. They were mostly intact except for the button that'd been torn off of his shirt. It was one of the middle ones, so it left an awkward gap that gaped open just enough to show a small patch of skin. They'd have to get it mended. If Kias could get hold of a needle and thread, he could even do it himself.

 

Kias wanted Sam. Kias was really embarrassed about what had happened, and he felt guilty for hurting Sam, and talking about what had happened would be really, really awkward. But... he wanted Sam. Kias still felt unsettled, unstable, and vulnerable, but he was sure once he had Sam with him to balance him out and make him feel safe, he'd be just fine.

 

It was likely Sam was just downstairs trying to give him some space, Kias decided. There was no reason for him to be anywhere else. As much as Kias really didn't feel like being around anyone but Sam at that moment, it looked like if he wanted Sam he was going to have to go and get him.

 

There wasn't much activity in the inn at this time of day. It was too late for lunch but too early for anyone to be coming home to settle in for the evening, so Kias managed to avoid encountering anyone as he headed downstairs in search of Sam. As he approached the couches in the lounge area, a head poked over the back of the couch facing away from Kias.

 

"Hello," Seba said in Kias' language, resting his crossed arms on the back of the couch. He had a book in one hand and two of his fingers wedged between the pages to save his place.

 

"Hello," Kias replied. He'd taught Seba quite a few words, but he'd only been able to teach words for what he could point to, which denied him the vast majority of actual useful language. Sam had taught Seba a few more functional words in Kias' language, though, and Kias thought he could probably get across what he needed to in this situation. "Where is Sam?"

 

Seba's face immediately brightened in understanding. "He—" Seba stopped and frowned, clearly lacking the words he needed to communicate what he needed to. Eventually, Seba just made a sound of annoyance and pointed towards the door leading out into the town.

 

Sam had left? He'd left the inn without Kias? Without even telling Kias where he was going? Kias schooled his face into a neutral expression, but his heart was thundering inside his chest. They knew that at some point in the not too distant future those metal monsters that Sam called 'drones' would be coming here to kill all human life and that they would be given very little warning before it happened. And if Sam wasn't with him when that occurred, what then? They had no way to find each other and Kias had no way to defend himself against those things. Kias wasn't sure if he was more angry or scared.

 

"Are you okay?" Seba asked, drawing Kias' attention. Another phrase Sam must have taught him.

 

Of all the responses Kias could give to that question, 'yes' and 'no' were likely to be the only ones Seba would actually comprehend. The trouble was, neither really matched his current state. Was he okay? Well, he was certainly holding it together. He'd be all right. Probably, anyway, assuming nothing happened before Sam came back and Kias strangled him. But was he completely fine? No, not at all. So Kias stayed silent.

 

Seba frowned and climbed off the couch, then walked slowly around it to meet Kias. Seba glanced down at where Kias was fiddling with the gap in his shirt left by the missing button, and his frown deepened. "Come on," Seba said, lightly taking Kias' arm and urging him towards the stairs.

 

Those words Kias was reasonably sure Seba had learnt from listening to Sam rather than from a direct and intentional language lesson. Just that day Sam had told Kias to 'come on' within earshot of Seba when Kias had been lagging behind. Kias wasn't sure how Seba had been able to distinguish the difference in meaning between it and 'hurry up', which Sam had also used. It was quite possibly just luck. Kias followed Seba up the stairs.

 

After they reached the top of the stairs, Seba led Kias along the corridor to Sam and Kias' room before drawing back and indicating for Kias to go in ahead of him. Seba followed afterwards and shut the door.

 

Kias looked Seba over critically, trying to figure out what the boy was up to, but all he saw on Seba's face was gentle concern. With a bit of encouragement, Seba got Kias to sit on the bed before sitting down next to him.

 

Seba placed a comforting hand on Kias' shoulder and squeezed gently. "Are you okay?" he asked again.

 

"Yes," Kias responded after a moment of hesitation. It was starting to feel more true.

 

Seba smiled, but it was more kind than happy. "Good."

 

Kias made a sound of agreement and stared down at his toes. It was stupid because there was no way Seba could actually protect him from anything he'd be unable to protect himself from, but having Seba with him did make him feel safer. Just because he wasn't alone.

 

"Kias," Seba said, drawing Kias' attention and his gaze. Seba tapped at one of the buttons that ran down the centre of his own shirt. It took Kias several confused moments to figure out what Seba wanted.

 

"Button," Kias finally said, then repeated it again more slowly. "Button."

 

Seba nodded and gave him a grateful smile. "Where is your button, Kias?"

 

Kias couldn't help but give Seba an impressed smile for the sentence he'd managed to construct. It may have only been a simple sentence, but Seba had only been learning for a couple of days. Kias retrieved the button from where he'd left in on top of the small, low table next to the bed and handed it to Seba.

 

"Thank you," Seba said, and stood. He looked contemplative for several moments, obviously unable to come up with the words he needed. Eventually, he held his palm out towards Kias in an obvious 'stop' gesture and said, "No come on."

 

Kias tried to keep a straight face for a brave couple of seconds, then burst out laughing. Seba, when Kias glanced at him between peels of laughter, looked embarrassed, but he was smiling too.

 

"Stay here," Kias told Seba once he'd managed to calm his laughter. Seba quirked his head to the side questioningly. Kias held his palm up to Seba as Seba had done to him a moment ago. "Stay here," Kias repeated.

 

A look of understanding passed over Seba's face and he smiled and nodded. "Stay here, please," he told Kias, and then he was leaving the room. He didn't bother shutting the door behind himself, so Kias was fairly sure he intended to come back.

 

A short while later, Seba returned with a small box in hand. He shut the door behind him and sat next to Kias on the bed again. He tapped Kias' arm. "Shirt."

 

Kias gave him a quizzical look, and Seba's brow wrinkled in concentration. "Give me shirt," Seba said, and then, after a couple of seconds of deep, lip chewing thought, said more confidently, "Give me your shirt, please."

 

Kias grinned at him and was too busy being proud of Seba's language advancement to think to ask why he was handing over his shirt. Not that Seba would have likely had the words to answer such a question anyway.

 

"Thank you," Seba said absent-mindedly, laying Kias' shirt out across his lap. He opened the little box, revealing small needles and tiny spools of fine thread. It was a sewing kit. Though Kias could sew, he got the impression that right then Seba would prefer to do it for him.

 

For a boy of fourteen, Seba was very graceful. His movements were restrained and careful and as he sewed the button back on his eyes and hands remained steady. He was nothing like Kias had been at his age. At his age, Kias had been a filthy homeless kid running around the streets swiping fruit from stalls. He hadn't been refined or controlled at all. Hell, he still wasn't. He doubted he ever would be. Kias wondered how much of Seba's behaviour was simply who he was and how much had been trained into him.

 

Seba made a happy, satisfied sound and handed the shirt back to Kias. He'd done a good job of it. The thread Seba had chosen matched closely enough with the original thread that Kias couldn't have picked which button had been sewn back on if he hadn’t known. Kias' mother had taught him the basics of sewing as a child, but he suspected Seba was more skilled than he was. That was okay. Kias wasn't terribly competitive about sewing.

 

"Thank you," Kias said as he slipped his shirt back on and started doing up the buttons again.

 

Seba smiled at him, broad and genuine. "You're welcome, Kias."

 


End file.
